The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday that the week ahead is going to be the “hardest and the saddest” for “most Americans’ lives,” describing the upcoming period of the coronavirus pandemic as a “Pearl Harbor moment” and a “9/11 moment.”

“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized, it’s going to be happening all over the country and I want America to understand that,” Vice Admiral Jerome Adams said on “Fox News Sunday.”

He continued, “I want Americans to understand that as hard as this week is going to be, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Officials have been warning that the next two weeks will be crucial in the fight to stop the virus from spreading further.

By late Sunday, the nationwide death toll had increased to at least 9,562 people, with at least 331,234 infected, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Adams said his message to governors who have not yet issued stay-at-home orders would be to consider implementing even just a temporary shutdown.

“If you can’t give us a month, give us a week … give us what you can,” he added

With 1,344 new deaths reported Saturday, the U.S. had the most fatalities recorded in one day.

Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, explains, “The next two weeks are extraordinarily important. This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe, and that means everybody doing the six-feet distancing, washing your hands.”