The coronavirus outbreak gripping the US could grow to become as serious as the conditions in the Chinese city of Wuhan, a doctor warned.

“What happened in Wuhan could happen here. Why do we think otherwise?” Johns Hopkins University Dr. Marty Makary told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday.

Makary urged Americans to take the disease more seriously, saying the population is just as vulnerable as in Wuhan, which was placed on lockdown as the virus infected more than 67,000 people in its province of Hubei.

“The American immune system is not stronger than the Chinese immune system,” Makary told the outlet. “Viruses don’t care about politics and they don’t care about location.”

“We need to tell people right now to stop all nonessential travel. I feel strongly about that,” he added.

The potentially deadly bug — which was traced to Wuhan’s animal markets — rapidly spread throughout China to more than 80,000 people after it was first identified in December.

More than 800 people have contracted the virus in the US, and at least 30 have died.

Makary said he’s concerned that the healthcare system will be inundated if there’s a big surge in cases.

“If we get 200,000 critical care cases, we’re going to be overrun,” he said. “So we need to do more.”