US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams has provided a warning to the US public that the COVID-19 crisis will get worse over the next seven days, and has held those refusing to self-isolate to blame.
During his interview on the TODAY show Monday morning, Adams said: "I want America to understand this week, it's going to get bad."
Adams added that the reason the virus is spreading so quickly is because so many people especially young people - are refusing to following self-isolation and social distancing guidelines, and continuing to go outside in crowded spaces.
Check out US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams's advice to the US public below:He said: "Right now, there are not enough people out there who are taking this seriously.
"Everyone needs to act as if they have the virus right now. 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."
When Asked about growing pressure for President Donald Trump to initiate the Defense Production Act - which would force companies to mass-produce critical supplies where possible - Adams suggested that the US is not at that point. Saying:
"Here's the thing that people don't understand. You don't need to compel someone to do something they are already doing."
Adams added that the government is already working with companies Hanes and Honeywell that are producing large quantities of the items required. Adams added:
"The other important point is that we're not going to ventilator our way out of this problem. We're not going to treat our way out of this problem. The way you stop the spread of an infectious disease like this is with mitigation measures and preventing people from getting it in the first place."
As of this writing, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide has exceeded 339,000, per John Hopkins University, resulting in 15,308 deaths.
As of Monday morning, the number of confirmed cases in the US has surpassed 35,000 (35,224), making it the nation with the third-highest number of infections in the world, behind only Italy and China.