Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday the spread of the coronavirus will affect all Americans. Sanders was addressing the state of the US health care system at a virtual town hall meeting with supporters. The veteran US senator said low income working families will be most affected by the expected economic downturn from the pandemic.

"As we do everything possible to grapple with this crisis and to address it as best we can it is also appropriate to ask ourselves how we got here and what this says about the financial and economic structure of our country," Sanders said.

The US is in the midst of a rapid outbreak of coronavirus across states and experts warn that the highly infectious disease is certain to spread further.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.