How we must respond to the coronavirus pandemic | Bill Gates

The optimistic scenario that I long for myself. That the world realizes one thing, that there are certain things that we simply have to come together on. Secondly, science is really important and it is a miracle that science can understand this mistake and know how to make a vaccine, sequence it, create treatments and understand how to design it; It's kind of a miracle for me. So will we now learn to pay attention to scientists? Because if we do, I'm sure you too will feel that there is a great analogy with the weather, it's just a different time scale.

Scientists say: "A huge enemy is approaching. If we don't do something, it will take millions of lives and destroy our planet." For the love of God, act, politicians! "Do something." And the politicians say, “Meh, no. "We need more GDP. We need to win elections." And they don't act. Do you see a scenario where this prompts politicians to change their thinking and prioritize science in general or is this asking too much? Bill: Yes, it is interesting to what extent this distraction will delay the urgent climate innovation agenda that exists. You know, I've dedicated a lot of time to climate work.

I have to say that in recent months this has changed and now, until we get out of this crisis, corona will dominate and therefore some of the weather elements, although they will persist, will not receive the same attention. When we get past that yes, the idea of ​​innovation, science, and the world working together is quite common to both problems. That's why I don't think this should be a big setback for the climate. Chris: Last question. There are thousands of people seeing many of them living alone, some are very afraid and there may be people who have this virus and are showing symptoms or recovering.

By the way, if this is you, we'd love to hear from you. Maybe you will have a conversation with a few of you in the future, just one of them to understand the experience. But Bill, what can people do from home now to try to help? BILL: Well, there's a lot of creativity, you know? Can you guide kids who were forced into an online format where school systems weren't really prepared for that? Can you organize some donation activities that will get food banks to show up when there are problems? These are unprecedented times and you should really get that sense of creativity while adhering to the commandments of quarantine.

Chris: Bill, I really want to thank you for spending this time with us and for the financial and time investment. You've really invested your life in trying to solve these big problems. That's the biggest they can get. I have a feeling your voice will be really needed in the coming weeks. Thank you very much for your time today. It was really great to hear from you. thank you. Bill: Thanks, Chris. Chris: Well, thank you all, thank you for being part of the TED community. Take care of yourself. Be smart about it. You know, go with this.

If you're in a part of the world where this hasn't really happened, listen to Bill Gates. Go ahead with it. You know, if you can, stay socially distant. No, no: physically distant and socially connected. This is what the Internet is. Today, this is what the Internet was created for. We can spread love, spread ideas, spread relationships, spread ideas without spreading serious errors. So go ahead, let's find out together. It's been great spending time with you. On behalf of Whitney, me, and the entire TED team, thank you again and again.