Bill Gates lauds Aussie coronavirus controls

Billionaire Bill Gates has praised Australia and South Korea as ‘doing great’ in handling the COVID-19 pandemic,

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Picture: AFP

Billionaire Bill Gates has praised Australia and South Korea as “doing great” in handling the COVID-19 pandemic and that they could have returned to a “normal” if only the rest of the world had done the same.

The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist said the economic impact being felt globally is one of the key drivers behind current ­vaccine research.

In an interview on American podcast Stuff You Should Know earlier this month, Mr Gates said the quick border closures and lockdown response of Australia and South Korea, which positioned both economies for a quicker recovery, could continue to be put at jeopardy as other parts of the world continue to battle the virus without hardline measures

“Countries like Australia and South Korea that did a competent job, even they have found it hard that everybody coming into the country potentially can start up a chain of infection again,” he said.

“So they’re doing great but they have to keep fighting and fighting and doing local shutdowns. Whereas if the rest of the world had done what they’ve done, they could go and have their economy in a normal state.”

While the US has historically committed funds to vaccine development to eradicate illness such as polio in developing countries, Mr Gates said American leadership through the pandemic was making it difficult to get financial assistance for vaccines in developing countries through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“I’m spending a lot of time getting the US to provide money to help buy the vaccine for other countries,” he said. “I’m optimistic that’ll get solved by the congress.”