The coronavirus outbreak could get worse this week, according to Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams.

"I want America to understand this week it's going to get bad and we really need to come together as a nation," Adams said in an interview with NBC's Today show on Monday.

The surgeon general said he still sees people going to beaches and other events, causing the virus to continue spreading. 

"There are a lot of people who are doing the right things, but I think that unfortunately we're finding out a lot of people think this can't happen to them," he said.

According to CNBC, New York state has seen 20,875 cases of the coronavirus so far. Adams said he doesn't want other states to see a similar impact.

"We don't want Dallas or New Orleans or Chicago to turn into the next New York and it means everyone needs to be taking the right steps right now and that means stay at home," he said. "People are still reacting and waiting to see spread before they decide to get serious." 

Adams also said testing has increased, but the people with the highest risk aren't being tested.

"We need to make sure we're prioritizing testing for our healthcare workers, we need to take care of the people who take care of the people, for people in hospitals and for people who are at highest risk right now," he said. "Everyone needs to act as if they have the virus right now. So test or no test, we need you to understand you could be spreading it to someone else or you could be getting it from someone else. Stay at home."

According to The New York Times, nearly 40% of people who are hospitalized because of the coronavirus are between the ages of 20 to 54, but older people face a greater risk of death from the virus.

"The demography definitely seems to be very different in the United States versus in other countries that saw this hit earlier," Adams said. "There are theories that it could be because we have a higher proportion of people in the United States … who vape."

No matter the cause, however, the surgeon general said the important thing is for young people to take the virus seriously.

"It's important for young people to know you can get this disease, you can be hospitalized from this disease, you can die from this disease, but most importantly you can spread it to your loved ones," he said.