Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Saturday called for the construction of “emergency housing” as a means to address the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

“We need to construct emergency housing to make sure that the homeless, survivors of domestic violence, and college students quarantined off campus are able to receive the shelter, health care, and nutrition they need,” Sanders said on Saturday:

We need to construct emergency housing to make sure that the homeless, survivors of domestic violence, and college students quarantined off campus are able to receive the shelter, health care, and nutrition they need. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 14, 2020

Sanders’ call follows President Trump’s decision to make an emergency declaration as local officials, organizations, and businesses across the United States take drastic steps –shutting down their operations, banning large gatherings, postponing elections, and suspending their events — in an effort to quell the effects of the novel coronavirus.

“To unleash the full power of the federal government for this effort, today I’m officially declaring a national emergency,” Trump said on Friday.

“The next eight weeks are critical. We can learn and we will turn a corner on this virus,” he continued. “Some of the doctors say it will wash through, it will flow through. Interesting terms. And very accurate, I think.”

Overall, the president stressed the “overriding goal” of stopping the spread of the virus and helping “all Americans impacted by this.”

Sanders, meanwhile, has been delivering near-daily updates on the coronavirus and using the opportunities to plug his vision for a universal health care system.

“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 on Thursday, making similar remarks on Friday.

“Poll after poll already shows us that the American people understand that we must do what every other major country on earth does, and that is to guarantee health care to all of our people as a human right, not a privilege,” he said on Friday.

“As we begin to see the failures and vulnerabilities of the current health care system, my guess is that those numbers, and the demand for universal health care, will only go up,” he added:

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