The Microsoft co-founder claimed a future pandemic could be 10 times worse than the ongoing crisis and insisted that the world must learn lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. The global coronavirus death toll has surpassed two million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The figures also show there have been more than 101 million coronavirus cases across the world.

America has been the worst hit country in terms of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Speaking to German media, Mr Gates said “we are not prepared for the next pandemic”.

He urged Governments across the globe to protect their citizens against possible new diseases.

Mr Gates added: “This pandemic is bad, but a future pandemic could be 10 times more serious.”

But the billionaire did say that if the coronavirus pandemic had developed five years ago, the world would not have been able to create a vaccine so quickly.

He praised the scientists and organisations who made the COVID-19 jabs so rapidly.

Mr Gates also warned world leaders to avoid vaccination nationalism, urging them to distribute the vaccine fairly.

READ MORE: Covid deaths exceeds grim milestone as 2 million people die

The couple have warned how the pandemic is devastating low income countries and explained we are “all in this together”.

Writing for CNN, Bill and Melinda said: “We all saw firsthand how quickly a disease you’ve never heard of in a place you may have never been can become a public health emergency right in your own backyard.

“Viruses like COVID-19 remind us that, for all our differences, everyone in this world is connected by a microscopic network of germs and particles — and that, like it or not, we’re all in this together.”

Mr Gates has predicted that a similar viral outbreak will likely occur every 20 years.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Gates added: “This is the biggest event that people will experience in their entire lives.”

Bill and Melinda also warned about future pandemics in a post on their Foundation’s blog.

The couple said: “The unfortunate reality is that COVID-19 may not be the last pandemic.

“We do not know when the next one will arrive, or if it will be a flu, a coronavirus or some new disease that we have never seen before.

“But what we do know is that we cannot allow ourselves to be caught off guard again.

“The threat of the next pandemic will always be over our heads, unless the world takes steps to prevent it. “