Bill Gates discusses his book “How to Prevent the Next Pandemic” at the 92nd Street Y on May 3 in New York. The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist posted on Twitter on Tuesday that he tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Bill Gates discusses his book “How to Prevent the Next Pandemic” at the 92nd Street Y on May 3 in New York. The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist posted on Twitter on Tuesday that he tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Bill Gates says he has COVID, experiencing mild symptoms

The billionaire philanthropist said he will isolate until he is again healthy.

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Tuesday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms.

Via Twitter, the billionaire philanthropist said he will isolate until he is again healthy.

“I’m fortunate to be vaccinated and boosted and have access to testing and great medical care,” Gates wrote.

The Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the most influential private foundation in the world, with an endowment of about $65 billion.

Bill Gates has been a vocal proponent for pandemic mitigation measures, specifically access to vaccines and medication for poorer countries. The Gates Foundation in October said it will spend $120 million to boost access to generic versions of drugmaker Merck’s antiviral COVID-19 pill for lower-income countries.

Talk to us

Previous
Idaho lieutenant governor wants harshest U.S. abortion ban
Next
Sightings of mammal-eating orcas increasing in Puget Sound

More in Northwest

King County Superior Court Judge Roger Rogoff stands in court, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, in Seattle. Rogoff announced Monday that a settlement had been reached in a lawsuit brought by survivors and family members of people killed in a 2014 Oso, Wash., landslide against the state of Washington and a timber company that logged an area above the site of the slide. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Former judge to head office probing Washington police shootings

The state’s new independent office will review cases where police use deadly force.

Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis, wearing an eagle feather honoring her Native American heritage, smiles as she speaks with media members after being named to the state Supreme Court Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, in Olympia, Wash. Montoya-Lewis was appointed to the bench by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who said she will be the first Native American justice to serve on the state's highest court. Montoya-Lewis, an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Isleta and a descendant of the Pueblo of Laguna Indian tribes, will be sworn in next month to fulfill the remaining year of Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst's term, and the seat will be open for election in 2020. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
State Supreme Court Justice Montoya-Lewis on medical leave

Officials with the court didn’t release additional details, citing the justice’s desire for privacy.

Police: Arby’s manager in Washington peed in milkshake mix

He said he did it for sexual gratification, and he’s “almost sure” he threw the tainted bag away.

Andrew Cain Kristovich (Snohomish County Sheriff's Office)
Oregon fugitive with Snohomish County ties arrested in Nevada

Andrew Cain Kristovich escaped from a federal prison camp in April. He was considered armed and dangerous.

FILE - In this Monday, March 1, 2021 file photo, The first Alaska Airlines passenger flight on a Boeing 737-9 Max airplane takes off on a flight to San Diego from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. A Boeing pilot involved in testing the 737 Max jetliner was indicted Thursday, Oct. 14,2021 by a federal grand jury on charges of deceiving safety regulators who were evaluating the plane, which was later involved in two deadly crashes. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Alaska Airlines to keep canceling flights at high level for weeks

Flight cancellations since April will continue. The chaos has been damaging for Seattle’s hometown airline.

FILE - Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks March 23, 2022, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Months into a complex trial over their role in flooding Washington with highly addictive painkillers, the nation's three largest opioid distributors have agreed to pay the state $518 million. Ferguson announced the deal Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
DNA from 372 state sex offenders added to national database

Officials have been unable to collect samples from some offenders, including three in Snohomish County.

FILE - Randy Weaver, the object of the Ruby Ridge siege, visits with the media at the main FBI roadblock outside the Freemen compound in Montana on April 27, 1996. Weaver, patriarch of a family that were involved in an 11-day Idaho standoff in 1992 with federal agents that left three people dead and served as a spark for the growth of anti-government extremists, has died at the age of 74. His death was announced Thursday, May 12, 2022, in a Facebook post by daughter Sara Weaver, who lives near Kalispell, Montana. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)
Randy Weaver, participant in Ruby Ridge standoff, dies at 74

The 11-day standoff in the Idaho Panhandle mountains transfixed the nation in August of 1992.

Barbara Williams, center, holds an umbrella for her mother, tribal chair Cecile Hansen, right, as they prepare to join other members of the Duwamish Indian Tribe in performing an "honor song" Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008 near a location in Seattle where bones were found during construction activities near the Pike Place Market. The song was performed because the tribe felt at the time that the remains could have been from an ancient member of the tribe, but city authorities said later in the day that the remains appeared to have been from a small animal. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Duwamish Tribe sues again for federal recognition

Tthe lawsuit demands the court set aside the denial of recognition in 2015 by the Obama administration.

A pod of transient orcas, known as T124As, surfacing near Tacoma. (Craig Craker/Orca Network)
Sightings of mammal-eating orcas increasing in Puget Sound

The killer whales enjoy a diet of harbor seals, sea lions, porpoises and the occasional bird or squid.

FILE - Bill Gates discusses his book "How to Prevent the Next Pandemic" at the 92nd Street Y on May 3, 2022, in New York. Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates posted on Twitter on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, that he tested positive for COVID-19. He said he was experiencing mild symptoms and was following the experts' advice by isolating until he is healthy again. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Bill Gates says he has COVID, experiencing mild symptoms

The billionaire philanthropist said he will isolate until he is again healthy.

FILE - Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin enters the house chambers at the state Capitol building on Jan. 10, 2022 in Boise, Idaho. McGeachin, a GOP candidate for governor, on Monday, May 9, 2022, called on incumbent Republican Gov. Brad Little to call a special session to eliminate rape and incest as legal exceptions to Idaho's abortion law. The law would go into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. (AP Photo/Otto Kitsinger, File)
Idaho lieutenant governor wants harshest U.S. abortion ban

Janice McGeachin is angling for state lawmakers to eliminate exceptions for rape and incest.

Crews finish clearing the roadway on SR 20. (Washington State Department of Transportation)
The North Cascades Highway is set to open Tuesday

Officials warn that it’s still wintery and avalanche potential remains in the backcountry.