Bill Gates has been extremely vocal about his views on different aspects related to COVID-19 pandemic and this time during an interview, he defended China saying that the country did the best by intervening early when the outbreak was reported in Wuhan in December.

The coronavirus blame game started ever since the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. surpassed the numbers reported in China ever since the outbreak was reported in the country.

According to reports, the very next day, the U.S. Intelligence Agencies were tasked to launch an investigation concerning the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak and the possibility of deliberate leakage from the lab studying coronaviruses in bats.

China has also been accused of hiding crucial information related to coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan that could have helped the world in preventing it from becoming a pandemic.

Gates, however, says that the country did a lot of right things at the beginning of the outbreak in Wuhan and that such allegations are nothing but a distraction. A lot of things being said about China are unfair and incorrect.

“ China did a lot of things right at the beginning, like any country where a virus first shows up,” Gates said. “They can look back and say where they missed some things.”

The billionaire further added that the country did the right thing by ramping up coronavirus testing across regions. He also took a dig at the U.S. for not having enough large-testing capability.

He said that some countries did their best by expanding testing capability, resulting in less economic damage. However, even in countries like the U.S. where people would expect the same to happen, the response has been poor.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been studying pandemic for the last several years. Now their focus has shifted completely to fighting COVID-19 pandemic.

So far, the foundation has contributed $250 million toward coronavirus research. The units dedicated to fighting other diseases are being re-purposed to join the fight against novel coronavirus pandemic.

Gates has also defended the World Health Organization (WHO) in the past after U.S. President Donald Trump accused the body of hiding information and not doing enough to stop the pandemic. Gates believes that WHO is extremely important and needs the necessary support to be able to perform its role in controlling the pandemic.

Bill Gates
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and wife Melinda announced their divorce. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

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