Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) proclaimed on Thursday that the Trump administration, through what he claims is its purported “incompetence and recklessness,” has “threatened the lives of many many people in our country” and made the pitch for a single-payer system in the U.S. as fears around the novel coronavirus loom large.

“Our country is at a severe disadvantage compared to every other major country on earth because we do not guarantee health care to all people as a right,” Sanders said in an address on Thursday, citing the millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured.

He added:

While we work to pass a Medicare for All single-payer system, the United States government today must make it clear that in the midst of this emergency, everyone in our country — regardless of income or where they live — must be able to get all of the health care they need without cost.

Sanders made a similar proclamation during a Wednesday appearance on The Tonight Show, telling host Jimmy Fallon that “people now understand, especially with the coronavirus, that it is insane that we live in a nation in which 87 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured and can’t get to a doctor when they should.”

“That we need a Medicare For All single-payer program,” he added. “People got that.”

Sanders also accused the Trump administration of gross incompetence and recklessness during his Thursday statement, adding that it has “threatened the lives of many many people in our country”:

Bernie Sanders / YouTube

His remarks follow Trump announcing the suspension of all travel from the European Union for 30 days, beginning midnight Friday.

“To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days,” Trump said from the Oval Office on Wednesday.