U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams on Monday issued a clear warning to the American public:
“This week, it’s going to get bad.”
Adams made the remark during an appearance on the “TODAY” show Monday morning, saying that the coronavirus crisis will worsen because many people, especially young people, are not “taking this seriously.”
“I want America to understand this week, it's going to get bad,” he said. “Right now, there are not enough people out there who are taking this seriously.”
"I think that there are a lot of people who are doing the right things, but I think that unfortunately we're finding out a lot of people think this can't happen to them,” said Adams, explaining that the Trump administration’s "15 Days to Slow the Spread" initiative was based on COVID-19 numbers from last week, not the current ones, suggesting rules could change if need be.
“Everyone needs to be taking the right steps right now, and that means stay at home,” he stressed.
Adams added that “everyone needs to act as if they have the virus right now,” urging people to follow social distancing guidelines.
“So, test or no test, we need you to understand you could be spreading it to someone else. Or you could be getting it from someone else. Stay at home,” he said.
This comes as universities in Florida deal with the aftermath of the highly-publicized spring break non-sense, where hundreds of students were seen congregating on the beaches. The University of Tampa announced on Saturday that a group of students returned to campus and tested positive for the virus. Other universities are making similar announcements.
Non-compliance has led states to implement restrictions including California which last week announced a statewide two-week stay-at-home order and New York state which announced its so-called "PAUSE" plan temporarily shutting down all non-essential businesses and gatherings.
More cities and states are following suit.