Watch Bill Gates' 2015 warning about a future major virus outbreak

COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, with ever greater numbers of cases and deaths being reported on a daily basis. It’s having a huge impact not just on people’s health, but on our way of life and on the global economy.

While at the start of the year no one expected us to be where we are now, the threat of a fast-spreading virus has been anticipated for quite some time. Indeed, back in 2015, Bill Gates gave a TED Talk on this very subject.

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If you have a spare 10 minutes, it’s well worth watching the below video in which Gates talks about the threat of a future outbreak, and warns that we’re not ready for it.

As the video description explains:

In 2014, the world avoided a horrific global outbreak of Ebola, thanks to thousands of selfless health workers -- plus, frankly, thanks to some very good luck. In hindsight, we know what we should have done better. So, now's the time, Bill Gates suggests, to put all our good ideas into practice, from scenario planning to vaccine research to health worker training. As he says, "There's no need to panic ... but we need to get going."