As the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen in the US, public health officials are enlisting help from doctors, scientists, nonprofits, and… Kylie Jenner. On March 19, Jerome Adams, MD, the Surgeon General of the United States, spoke to “Good Morning America.” He said that he hopes influencers such as Jenner will do their part to spread the world about social distancing and how to act responsibly during this stressful time.
“We need to get our social media influencers out there in helping folks understand that this is serious,” Dr. Adams said in the GMA interview. “People are dying.”
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Yet millennials and Gen Z-ers are still going on spring break and taking advantage of flights that are cheaper due to coronavirus, NBC News reported. Dr. Adams hopes these age groups will listen up and realise that they’re in danger, too.
“Young people may be at higher risk than we previously thought,” Dr. Adams explained. It's true: Although it was originally believed that older people were more susceptible to COVID-19, a new Centres for Disease Control and Prevention report showed 20% of those hospitalised were between 20 and 44.
“Thereare concerning reports coming out of France and Italy about some youngpeople getting seriously ill and very seriously ill in the ICUs,” DeborahBirx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said in apress conference on March 18.
But Dr. Adams has a solution. “I have a 15- and a 14-year-old, and the more I tell them not to do something, the more they want to do it," he said on GMA. "What I really think we need to do… is get our influencers out. We need to get Kylie Jenner.”
i hope everyone is feeling well! it’s so important right now to self quarantine to ensure we aren’t endangering ourselves or anyone who can’t handle this virus 🤍
— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) March 18, 2020
Dr. Adams thinks if anyone can get through to these generations, It’s the 22-year-old reality star and owner of Kylie Cosmetics, who has over 166 million followers on Instagram.
In response to the surgeon general's suggestions, Jenner made a Instagram story of herself asking people to "please stay inside."
"It's serious, and the only way we're going to slow this down is if we do this," she said in the video. "Nobody's immune to this. Millennials are not immune to this."
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For the record, the billionaire beauty mogul was already been doing her part before Dr. Adams called on her. “Another daily reminder to take this social distancing serious and self quarantine,” she wrote in an Instagram story on March 18. “I’m on day eight.”
On Twitter, she added: “I hope everyone is feeling well! It’s so important right now to self quarantine to ensure we aren’t endangering ourselves or anyone who can’t handle this virus.”
But why stop there? Jenner could host a Facebook Live Q&A with Dr. Adams himself, for example. She could film one of her famous "A Day in the Life" YouTube videos of her quarantine routine. She could post an at-home manicure tutorial for those of us who are forgoing the salon. She could even start selling Kylie Cosmetics hand soaps and sanitisers — in her signature powder pink, natch.
Or she could stick with the occasional post that promotes social distancing. Hopefully, the people who need to see these PSAs will heed her advice.
The World Health Organisation says you can protect yourself by washing your hands, covering your mouth when sneezing or coughing (ideally with a tissue), avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth and don't get too close to people who are coughing, sneezing or with a fever. If you suspect you have the symptoms of COVID-19 you should call NHS 111 and stay indoors.
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