Oprah Winfrey has warned African Americans to take the coronavirus outbreak seriously because it is 'ravaging our community' and 'taking us out'.

The TV mogul said the coronavirus outbreak continued to have a devastating impact on black communities across the United States but that people weren't getting the message about the risk of asymptomatic carriers.

Speaking to CBS This Morning on Tuesday, Winfrey said it was important for black people to understand that pre-existing conditions including diabetes and asthma put them at greater risk if they contracted the virus.

She also voiced concerns for her own health, saying she was staying indoors because she suffered from pneumonia last year and that her 'lungs never really fully cleared'.

'It's not only ravaging our community, but people who have preexisting conditions, which I think people didn't hear that,' she said.

Oprah Winfrey told how coronavirus is having a devastating impact on the black community

'So if you are taking medication for your diabetes, if you're taking medication because of hypertension, if you need an asthma inhaler for asthma, if you have any kind of lung disorder.'

Winfrey revealed back in September that she had been taken to the emergency room with a serious case of pneumonia.

'So the moment I heard preexisting conditions, I'm like, ''lock the door, nobody coming in here',' Winfrey said.

The disproportionate impacts of coronavirus on the African American community continue to be felt across the country.

Some lawmakers and community leaders in cities hard-hit by the pandemic have been sounding the alarm over what they see as a disturbing trend of the virus killing African Americans at a higher rate.

Among the cities where black residents have been hard-hit include Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans and Milwaukee.

A history of systemic racism and inequity in access to health care and economic opportunity has made many African Americans far more vulnerable to the virus.

Black adults suffer from higher rates of obesity, diabetes and asthma, which make them more susceptible, and also are more likely to be uninsured.

They also often report that medical professionals take their ailments less seriously when they seek treatment.

Many African Americans have service jobs such as bus drivers, pharmacy workers and grocery store employees, which have become essential during the lockdown. It prevents them from staying at home and expose them to the virus though contact with the public.

Speaking to CBS This Morning's Vladimir Duthiers, Winfrey added that 'people aren't getting the message' about the risk of asymptomatic carriers of the virus

On Winfrey's new Apple TV+ series Oprah Talks, actor Idris Elba and wife Sabrina Dhowre-Elba discussed being quarantined together in New Mexico

Winfrey discussed the issue of the impact of the virus on black people, including during the latest installment of her 'Oprah Talks COVID-19' series, which is available for free on Apple TV+ starting on Tuesday.

When she interviewed actor Idris Elba, who tested positive for the virus last month but showed no symptoms, Winfrey raised the problem of people spreading the virus without realizing they have it.

'It's all these people [asymptomatic carriers], who perhaps could be carriers,' she said.

Earlier this month, Winfrey announced she is donating $10 million to support people and cities across the country during the pandemic.

She will be committing $1 million to America's Food Fund, whose goal it is to make sure everyone has access to food. The fund was launched by Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurene Powell Jobs, Apple and the Ford Foundation.

Winfrey's comments come as the Centers for Disease Protection and Control faces increasing pressure to be more transparent about the toll of the virus on communities of color.

The agency has not publicly reported racial or ethnic demographic data for COVID-19 tests performed across the country, though its own standardized form required for reporting COVID-19 tests and cases includes a section for indicating the race or ethnicity of those tested.

Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday introduced legislation to compel federal health officials to post data daily that breaks down COVID-19 cases and deaths by race and ethnicity.

The lawmakers say the demographic data is needed to address any disparities in the national response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, and Oprah Winfrey hug during an Apple special event last march. She has a show in Apple TV+ and joined with the tech firm to donate $1 million to America's Food Fund

ILLINOIS: In Illinois, the majority of deaths - 42.8% - have been linked to black residents

CHICAGO: 72 percent of the deaths in Chicago have been black residents. They account for 30 percent of the city's population

'Because of government-sponsored discrimination and systemic racism, communities of color are on the frontlines of this pandemic,' Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of several sponsors of the legislation in the Senate, said in a statement.

'To effectively slow the spread of the virus and ensure our response is robust and equitable, we need comprehensive national data on who is getting infected, who is getting treatment, and who is dying.'

In Chicago, 72 percent of the deaths have been black residents despite them only making up 30 percent of the city's population.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday that the coronavirus was 'devastating' African American communities.

'The answer that we believe is right is because of the underlying conditions that people of color and particularly black folks suffer from, whether it's diabetes, heart disease, upper respiratory illnesses, the kind of things that we've been talking about for a long time that plague black Chicago, that lead to life expectancy gaps,' Lightfoot said.

'This virus attacks those underlying conditions with a vengeance.'

Last week, New York City released data that showed black and Latino people were twice as likely to die from coronavirus than white residents.

In Louisiana, with New Orleans being a hot spot for the virus, about 70 per cent of those who have died were black. Black people only make up 32 per cent of residents in the state.