U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams seems to be parroting his boss, Donald Trump, when it comes to trivializing people’s fears about the coronavirus. According to Adams, Americans shouldn’t be too concerned about the spread of COVID-19, even while the number of cases nationwide keeps rising.
“Initially we had a posture of containment so that we could give people time to prepare for where we are right now,” Adams said on CNN’s State of the Union. “Now we’re shifting into a mitigation phase, which means that we’re helping communities understand you’re going to see more cases. Unfortunately, you’re going to see more deaths, but that doesn’t mean that we should panic.”
“It means that we should take the things that we know work for individuals to protect themselves and make sure everyone is doing those things, like washing your hands frequently, like covering your cough, like staying home if you’re sick and not being around people who are sick,” Adams said.
While Adams — and Trump — seem unconcerned about the potential spread of COVID-19, people took to Twitter to complain about the lack of action from Adams and Trump.
Virginia True Blue Resister tweeted: ” Adderall disrupts sleep. I do feel sorry for that doctor…reducing all that education and expertise to lie on National TV about medical issues must hurt.”
Dean Obeidallah tweeted: “This is how you keep your job under Trump- you lie to make the supreme leader happy”.
And, Denise Shearin tweeted: “Just another ‘dear leader’ sycophant.”
Adams told CNN host Jake Tapper he believes the virus is contained in certain parts of the U.S., saying, “We actually feel pretty good that some parts of the country have contained it just like when you look at the flu.”
But, he added, “communities need to be thinking about things like should we be canceling large gatherings, what are our telework policies, should we be closing schools.”
“And it’s going to be different in Seattle than what it’s going to be in Jackson, Mississippi,” Adams said. “But communities need to have that conversation and prepare for more deaths.”
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“There are now more than 400 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus in the U.S. and 105 in New York state as of Sunday, prompting Gov. Andrew Cuomo to declare a state of emergency,” The New York Post reported.
More than 107,000 people throughout the world have contracted the virus, and more than 3,600 have died.
According to Adams, people in the U.S. should be more concerned about the flu. In the CNN interview he said, “And when we look at the flu tracker, some parts of the country are having much more severe flu seasons. Some are having very mild flu seasons. The same thing for coronavirus.”
