Bill Gates tests positive for COVID-19

Businessman and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates confirmed via social media early Tuesday evening that he tested positive for COVID-19.

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“I’m experiencing mild symptoms and am following the experts’ advice by isolating until I’m healthy again,” Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, tweeted.

Gates went on in the thread to confirm he is vaccinated against the virus, boosted and has “access to testing and great medical care.”

He also noted that the Gates Foundation – a nonprofit dedicated to fighting global poverty, disease and inequity – was meeting for the first time in two years Tuesday, but given his illness, he participated remotely.

“We will continue working with partners and do all we can to ensure none of us have to deal with a pandemic again,” Gates concluded his thread.

By 6 p.m. EDT Tuesday, the United States had confirmed more than 82 million cumulative COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, and the nationwide death toll attributed to the virus hovered within 200 fatalities of crossing the 1 million mark, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

Globally, more than 518 million people have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in nearly 6.3 million worldwide deaths to date, the Johns Hopkins data indicated.

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