President Donald Trump was aiming to have restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus lifted by Easter.
But, Surgeon General Jerome Adams cautioned Americans that the week leading up to the holiest day for Christians would be one of the roughest in recent memory during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
“It’s tragically fitting that we’re talking at the beginning of holy week because this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives quite frankly,” Adams said.
“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized, it’s going to be happening all over the country,” he added.
Watch the interview below:
ON NEXT: Dr. Jerome Adams, U.S. Surgeon General, on where the U.S. is heading in the fight against coronavirus. Will this week be the peak? Check you local listings. #FNS #FoxNews #BeatCOVID_19 #TogetherAtHome pic.twitter.com/rdP9tAyt8c
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) April 5, 2020
Last week, Trump announced that he would extend the social distancing guidelines until the end of April, as IJR has previously reported.
Additionally, on Tuesday, members of the White House coronavirus task force laid out stark projections for the coronavirus death toll, which ranged from 100,000 to 240,000 deaths because of the virus.
Adams’ comments come as public health experts have implored Americans to follow the guidelines in an effort to slow the spread of the virus across the country.
Currently, a majority of Americans are under stay at home orders, and the latest data shows that there are 321,762 confirmed cases in the country.
