Kylie Jenner Speaks out Amid Coronavirus Fears After Surgeon General Urges Influencers to Help Fight Pandemic

Makeup mogul Kylie Jenner answered Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams' call for Instagram influencers' help to get the word out about the coronavirus pandemic. During Good Morning America Thursday, Adams specifically noted that Jenner could help younger people learn the importance of staying home during the crisis. Hours later, the 22-year-old answered Adams' call, bringing his message to her 166 million followers in an Instagram Story video.

"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 Thursday on her Instagram Story. "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," she 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."

"New evidence actually shows that a large percentage of people in the hospital right now are young adults," Jenner said. "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."

While GMA, Adams said the government needed Jenner and other inflenecers to help understand that the coronavirus outbreak is "absolutely serious" because "people are dying." Adams noted that many children do not want to listen to adults, but they might pay attention to people their age.

Adams also pointed out there is new evidence that younger people can be affected by COVID-19 and they can easily pass it on to the most vulnerable, including older people. It is why social distancing is important, even if you are not showing symptoms.

"But think about your grandfather, think about your grandmother," Adams said. "Think about the fact you're spreading disease that could ultimately be what kills them."

On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report confirming that the oldest COVID-19 patients have the greatest likelihood of dying and needing to go to the hospital among the first 2,500 recorded cases in the U.S. However, of the 508 patients hospitalized, 38 percent were between 20 and 54 years old. Half of the 121 patients admitted to ICUs were adults under 65, reports the New York Times.

As of Thursday afternoon, there are more than 242,000 coronavirus cases worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University research. In the U.S., there are more than 13,100 cases and 176 confirmed deaths.

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