WASHINGTON — Surgeon General Jerome Adams is bracing Americans for what he says is going to be, “the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives’’ because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Adams tells “Fox News Sunday” that, “this is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment.’’

He wants to make clear that, “it’s going to be happening all over the country. And I want America to understand that.’’

Adams also has a message to governors who haven’t yet imposed shelter-in-place orders in their states. He says the handful of states in that category are states where a large amount of food is produced for the country, and that’s been part of the struggle when it comes to stay-at-home restrictions.


But Adams has a message for those governors: “If you can’t give us a month, give us what you can. Give us a week. Give us whatever you can to stay at home during this particularly tough time when we’re going to be hitting our peak over the next seven to 10 days.’’

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