With America now reporting the most coronavirus cases in the world, Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Friday stressed the importance of people self-quarantining when sick and of others staying indoors to impede further spreading of the pandemic.
“We told everyone to act as if they have the virus because you could be spreading it whether you have symptoms or not,” Adams said during an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “We want people who are sick to think about getting medications ahead of time. If you have the ability, isolate a bathroom and a bedroom for someone who has coronavirus or is likely to have the virus.
“Make sure you’re disinfecting surfaces frequently and washing hands every time you go in and out of the room of a person who may be having the virus,” he said. “Just make sure you stay home.”
As global cases approach the 600,000 mark, the U.S. has at least 82,000 people who’ve contracted COVID-19, the potentially deadly respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. In New York City, for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, makeshift morgues have been set up outside hospitals in anticipation of more deaths.
As the end nears for the 15-day period in which the White House-issued guidelines encouraged social distancing and working from home, Adams conceded that some regions such as New Orleans, Chicago and Detroit will require even more time to stem the tide of the disease.
“In some places, definitely, we’re going to need a lot more,” he said. “Some places haven’t hit their peak yet, and what we’re looking to do in the next week or two is really give people the testing data that they need to make informed choices.”