Trump’s travel ban likely accelerated the spread of the coronavirus in the US, according to Bill Gates

• Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that the government’s travel ban earlier this year may have made the coronavirus outbreak in the US worse.
• Speaking to Fox News in an interview that will be aired on Sunday, the billionaire said that the ban made thousands of people rush back into the country from overseas.
• Those people returned to a lack of safety measures like testing and quarantines, helping the virus to spread, Gates said.
• “We created this rush, and we didn’t have the ability to test or quarantine those people,” Gates told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace.
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Microsoft founder Bill Gates said the travel ban implemented by President Trump earlier this year may have accelerated the spread of the coronavirus in the US.

Speaking to Fox News in an interview that will be aired on Sunday, Gates said that the ban made thousands of people rush back into the country, but a lack of safety measures upon their return caused the virus to continue spreading.

“We created this rush, and we didn’t have the ability to test or quarantine those people,” Gates told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace.

“And so that seeded the disease here. You know, the ban probably accelerated that, the way it was executed.”

“March saw this incredible explosion — the West Coast coming from China and then the East Coast coming out of Europe, and so, even though we’d seen China and we’d seen Europe, that testing capacity and clear message of how to behave wasn’t there,” Gates added, according to Fox News.

This is not the first time Gates has been critical of the government’s handling of the pandemic. 

In April, the billionaire philanthropist slammed Trump’s decision to cut US funding for the World Health Organization. 

Speaking to Insider’s Hilary Brueck, Gates also said that the coronavirus testing system is “worthless” and that it would be the first thing he’d fix if he were in charge. 

In an interview with CBS News in July, Gates said that “serious mistakes were made” in how the virus was handled, adding that reopenings and mask compliance were two of the main issues. 

“We actually had criteria for opening up that said you had to have cases declining and we opened up with cases increasing,” Gates said, according to CBS News.

“We somehow got masks as this politicized thing … and some like, harbinger of freedom, that just covering your mouth was awful.”

• Read more:
• Bill Gates: We will have a coronavirus vaccine, but the disease will keep coming back if there’s a US ‘leadership vacuum’
• ‘The world needs WHO’: Bill Gates slammed Trump for halting the $400 million in US funding for the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic
• Bill Gates issued a stark warning for the world: ‘As awful as this pandemic is, climate change could be worse’
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