Surgeon General implores holdout governors to 'give us a week' of restrictions
WASHINGTON — Surgeon General Jerome Adams Sunday called on U.S. governors who haven’t issued statewide stay-at-home orders that combat the spread of coronavirus to at least “give us a week” of restrictions, as health officials warn of an accelerating rate of infections and deaths.
When asked for his message to those governors who have not yet issued such drastic orders, Adams called on them to follow the administration's guidelines, which include measures like avoiding social gatherings and discretionary travel.
“The next week is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, 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,” he said during an interview on “Meet the Press.”
“Ninety percent of Americans are doing their part, even in the states where they haven’t had a shelter-in-place. But If you can’t give us 30 days, governors, give us a week, give us what you can so that we don’t overwhelm our health care systems over this next week, and then let’s reassess.”
Adams stopped short of calling for a national stay-at-home order, adding that “governors are rightly protective of their ability to determine what’s best for their citizens,” and that it’s up to the experts to give governors “the science to make the best recommendations.” But he said that the best way to fight the spread of the virus is to overprepare.
“We are always telling people we would rather prevent disease than treat disease. I tell people we aren’t going to treat or supply our way out of this problem, there is no magic bullet or magic cure. It’s good old-fashioned public health and prevention,” Adams said.
Related: Coronavirus in the United States
There have been at least 8,400 American deaths due to the coronavirus pandemic and at least 309,700 cases in the country, according to NBC News. And as the virus continues to spread across the country, public health experts are updating their guidance in the spirit of caution, including a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation for people to cover their faces when they go out in public.
But while the vast majority of states have ordered their residents to stay home to fight the spread, a handful have not.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., one of the governors who has not issued such an order, told “Meet the Press” moments after Adams’ interview that the surgeon general made “great comments” and that Arkansas is “doing everything the surgeon general has outlined, plus more.”
“In Arkansas we have a targeted approach that is very strict. We’ve closed bars, restaurants, schools, some of our park lodges. We are emphasizing social distancing and we will do more as we need to,” he said.
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Responding to the discussion over a stay-at-home order, Hutchinson said that because hundreds of thousands of Arkansans will still have to go into work regardless, “it’s more important a message that: Do your social distancing, don’t gather in groups of more than 10 people and bring a mask with you.”
But Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., one of the first governors to issue a stay-at-home order, disagreed. He said that early data shows that the state has had “some success” slowing the rate of infection, pointing to that early intervention as a reason why.
And he added that he believes a holistic approach by the entire country would be the best protection because “even though you are looking OK today, it can bite you big time tomorrow.”
“I think it would be good to have a national stay-at-home order, and the reason is: Even if Washington gets on top of this fully, if another state doesn’t, it can come back and come across our borders two months from now,” he said.
