New Delhi, India

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates recently hit out at anti-mask protesters. In the era of conspiracy theories circling social media, many believe that masks are pointless. In fact, in many countries, many have taken to the streets to protest wearing masks.

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Bill Gates recently compared anti-mask protesters to “nudists”. During an interview on the podcast “Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions”, Gates and the comedian took up the issue of anti-mask protesters. Many continue to denounce masks, especially after calls from leaders like American President Donald Trump and Brazil’s Bolsonaro, who have continuously downplayed the importance of face coverings.

Also read: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets Bill Gates to discuss COVID-19 vaccine

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Gates referred to anti-maskers as a “weird thing”. He added the following - “I mean, what are these, like, nudists?”

Gates went on to comparing the situation with wearing pants. "We ask you to wear pants and, you know, no American says — or very few Americans say — that that’s, like, some terrible thing," Huffpost quoted him as saying.

The American billionaire also spoke about the shifting public perception about masks. He said that in the beginning of the pandemic, not everyone was convinced of the safety of masks, but now that it has been ascertained that COVID-19 is different from fevers and flus, masks are more commonly accepted.

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Also read: Normalcy will return only with second generation of Covid-19 vaccine: Bill Gates

Gates alluded to a research undertaken by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. It claimed that if everybody wore masks, “over 100,000” deaths could be averted int he US.

Rashida Jones and Bill Gates also spoke to Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Fauci claimed that "wearing a mask, keeping a distance, avoiding crowds, being outdoors as much as you possibly can - weather permitted - and washing your hands" are the defining ways for one to return to the normal world.