An-Najah News - American billionaire Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, warned 5 years ago of “a pandemic that would kill millions of people.”

American comedian Ellen DeGeneres presented a video clip that documented a speech delivered by Bill Gates in a series of “Ted Talks” in 2015, saying that the world will be exposed to a pandemic in the coming decades, killing 10 million. Gates said in the video: “If something is going to kill more than 10 million people over the next few decades, it is more likely to be a very contagious virus, not a war, not missiles (the cause), but microbes.”

During the interview, DeGeneres, asked the American billionaire, if he prepared for the pandemic that he expected and he said: “The goal of the 2015 speech was that the government should work to prepare and to be ready for the next pandemic.” He added: “This would have meant that we would have the ability to diagnose very quickly, we have the drugs very quickly, and even the vaccine, all of these things would have happened much faster than now if the governments were prepared.” Gates expressed his belief that life will not return to normal, until a vaccine or treatment that is more than 95 percent effective is developed, indicating that it will not happen 18 months from now, he said.

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A United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) spokesman, Sami Mushasha, said that the occupation is restricting UNRWA staff’s work to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Jerusalem camps.

“This act is an extension of all the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities two years ago on UNRWA, by preventing all UNRWA and Palestinian Ministry of Health services from reaching the beneficiaries,” he said in a telephone interview with official agencies.

He pointed out that there is difficulty in entering and exiting the camps, especially Shuafat camp.

“This affects the economic conditions of the residents of Jerusalem, and those who do not fully benefit from our services as a result of the measures that the occupation municipality is carrying out in Jerusalem, in addition to the ongoing occupation measures of arrests, incursions and restrictions of movement,” he added.