After predicting in 2015 an infectious disease is the world's biggest emerging threat that could cost 10 million lives worldwide, billionaire Bill Gates is forecasting far less loss of life, if not a bent curve by the end of the month.
"This is a nightmare scenario because human-to-human transmittal respiratory viruses can grow exponentially," Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, told "Fox News Sunday."
"And you know, if we had kept on going to work, traveling like we were, that curve would never bend until you had the majority of the people infected and then a massive number seeking hospital care and lots of lots of deaths."
Gates is even optimistic the COVID-19 global pandemic might not even claim range of 100K-240K lives estimated by the White House coronavirus task force statistical models.
"If we do the social distancing properly, we should be able to get out of this with a death number well short of that," Gates told host Chris Wallace, adding the models are "very important" to making sure Americans take things serious amid the U.S.'s 30 days to slow the spread.
Still, the pandemic is not going to be defeated in total, and only a vaccine – which is still months, if not a year-plus away – is the only solution to moving the world and U.S. forward with confidence, according to Gates.
"Things won't go back to truly normal until we have a vaccine that we've gotten out to basically the entire world," he added.
Gates, one of the richest men in world history, resigned from the Microsoft board last month to focus on his philanthropic effort, as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation offered $100 million for the coronavirus response, something that was long overdue.
"It's hard to put money into something where you don't know if it's going to happen," he said. "I am sure after this, which is just such a gigantic impact, that we will put that money in," he concluded.