Microsoft founder Bill Gates said the controversial coronavirus origin investigation is not directly tied to particular actions to save lives, according to a report by The Australian.

Investigations into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, which have become highly controversial among scientists and fuelled tension between China and the United States and Australia, would not change "the need for masks and vaccines," the report published on the daily newspaper on Friday cited Gates as saying in a TV interview on Wednesday.

Gates said that "we should investigate these things, but it's not directly tied to particular actions to save lives."