'We need to get Kylie Jenner': Influencers should promote social distancing to combat coronavirus crisis, surgeon general says

Influencers like Kylie Jenner should take to social media to promote social distancing as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases continues to rise, the United States Surgeon General said.

"What I think we really need to do ... is get our influencers out. Kevin Durant, Donavan Mitchell. We need to get Kylie Jenner. We need to get our social media influencers out there and helping folks understand that, look, this is serious. This is absolutely serious. People are dying," Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Thursday on "Good Morning America."

Health officials said social distancing, or avoiding congregate settings, is the best way to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without preventative measures, the U.S. cannot "flatten the curve," or makes sure the rate of coronavirus infections doesn't outpace the country's health care response.

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Yet videos posted to social media continue to show college students in large crowds partying on spring break. Video taken from Miami shows spring breakers explaining why they will continue to party despite government warnings and mandated closures.

""We've been waiting for Miami spring break for a while -- about two months we've had this trip planned," spring breaker Brady Sluder says in the video.

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Adams also said young people may be at higher risk than previously reported, but social distancing measures should be taken to protect the nation's elderly.

"Think about your grandmother. Think about your grandfather. Think about the fact that you're spreading a disease, which could ultimately be what kills them," he said.