Surgeon General: Next Week Is Going To Be 'Our 9/11 Moment' For Coronavirus Crisis
Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Sunday warned that the next week of the coronavirus pandemic will be a major moment for Americans — similar to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — and urged governors who have not issued statewide stay-at-home orders to “do their part.”
As of Sunday morning, nine governors ― all Republicans ― have so far refused to issue statewide stay-at-home orders despite calls from public health experts and medical professionals to do so.
Asked what he would tell those governors if he were advising them, Adams told ABC’s “This Week” that he would urge them to follow the White House’s coronavirus guidelines to stop the slow the spread in 30 days, which include recommendations to work from home if possible and avoid discretionary travel.
“The next week is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment,” Adams said. “It’s going to be our 9/11 moment. It’s going to be the hardest moment for many Americans in their entire lives. And we really need to understand that if we want to flatten that curve and get through to the other side, everyone needs to do their part.
“If you can’t give us 30 days, governors, give us a week,” the vice admiral continued. “Give us what you can so that we don’t overwhelm our health care systems over this next week and then let’s reassess at that point.”
More than 300 million people across 41 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., have been ordered to stay home as the virus continues to spread across the country. Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming are not under such statewide orders. (Parts of the latter four states, including several cities and counties, are subject to stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders.)
“I wish every governor would encourage the people in their states to follow these guidelines for 30 days,” Adam said. “But I want them to do what they can in their states. ... Governors are rightly...
