Bill Gates calls US coronavirus testing disorganized in Reddit AMA

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has a lot of experience with global public health issues through his work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. On Wednesday, Gates participated in an Ask Me Anything Q&A on Reddit, inviting questions about COVID-19 specifically or epidemics and pandemics more generally. Gates' foundation has committed up to $100 million to help with the global response to the virus, adding an additional $5 million for Gates' home state, Washington, which has been hit hard.

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Testing woes

Gates noted that testing for the disease is still scattered and uneven.

"The testing in the US is not organized yet," he said. "In the next few weeks, I hope the government fixes this by having a website you can go to to find out about home testing and kiosks. Things are a bit confused on this right now. In Seattle, the U of W is providing thousands of tests per day but no one is connected to a national tracking system.

Some of Gates' responses could be viewed as encouraging. When asked how long the outbreak would last, Gates responded that while it would vary by country, there are ways to limit the length of time a nation would be affected.

https://www.cnet.com/news/bill-gates-calls-us-coronavirus-testing-disorganized-in-reddit-ama/?ftag=CAD-04-10abi6g&bhid=24447454298893839703959737945916&mid=12753182