Kylie Jenner's Coronavirus Plea on Instagram Earns Backlash Amid Donald Trump's 15-Day Pandemic Plan

Model and makeup mogul Kylie Jenner heard Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams' call for Instagram [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Model and makeup mogul Kylie Jenner heard Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams' call for Instagram influencers to use their reach to share the importance of social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak with young people. Jenner shared a long video on her Instagram Story, telling her 166 million followers to take the crisis seriously. Many praised her for spreading the word, but she faced criticism as well for taking so long to do it. Her message came a few days after President Donald Trump issued 15-day guidelines for Americans during the crisis.

"Hey guys, Happy self-quarantine. I know I've already been doing my daily reminders about how important it is right now to practice social distancing. I'm going on my ninth day," Jenner said in a clip she filmed at home. "The coronavirus is a real thing. I listened to the surgeon general this morning...he definitely encouraged me to come on here and talk to you guys so you can see me and hear me."

"Please stay inside, you guys," Jenner continued. "Please say inside, practice social distancing, self-quarantine. If you live with your parents, you don't want to go home and get your parents sick. You might have it and not even know, infecting other people. The only way we're going to slow this down is if we do this because there's no cure right now. Nobody is immune to this, millennials are not immune to this."

'Kylie Jenner Really Said Being at Home is FUN'

Later on, Jenner pointed to new data that young people have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. A CDC report released on Wednesday noted that of the first 508 patients hospitalized with the coronavirus in the U.S., 38 percent were between 20 and 54 years old.

"New evidence actually shows that a large percentage of people in the hospital right now are young adults," Jenner said on Instagram. "I love you guys, we're gonna get through this together. We just have to listen to each other, respect each other, self-quarantine. I encourage other influencers to also speak out."

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'She Just Cleared This Up for All of Us!!'

Dr. Deborah Brix, another member of the White House coronavirus response team, agreed that young millennials could help spread information about the coronavirus.

"The millennials are incredibly good about getting information out in a clear way, but more importantly, they are incredibly good about understanding how to protect one another, how to protect their parents, and how to protect their grandparents," Brix told Good Morning America.

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'Totally on Board'

"Right now we need the army of millennials out there doing everything that they can to protect themselves from getting infected because we know a lot of their cases will be mild or asymptomatic, and making sure that they're doing every single precaution to protect their parents and grandparents," Brix added.

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'Kylie Jenner Cured the World'

Young celebrities who have also tested positive for coronavirus are using their platform to show that anyone could contract the virus. Former The Bachelor star Colton Underwood, 28, said he tested positive on Friday. Underwood's revelation was made more shocking because he spent the last week isolating himself.

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'It's Real... Thanks Kylie'

"We got this," Underwood, a former NFL player, wrote on Instagram. "I tested positive and I have been following all of the social distancing rules since last week. My symptoms started a few days ago, I was tested and just received my results today. For anyone out there that is hesitant to self quarantine... please do yourself and your loved ones a favor and stay home. We will all beat this and come out stronger on the other side. I'll keep you posted, Love y'all."

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'You Don't Have to Tell the Thousands of People That Have Lost Their Jobs'

On Tuesday, the White House released 15-day guidelines for Americans, telling those feeling ill to stay at home during the crisis. Older people and those with serious underlying health conditions should also stay at home. If you are at a home with someone who tested positive, the entire household should also stay home and not go to work. Americans were also told to not go to gatherings of 10 or more people.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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