Democratic debate in Washington, DC

Bernie Sanders said tonight that the first step to tackling the spread of coronavirus — whether he becomes president or not — would be to “shut this President up right now.”

Democrats have faulted President Trump’s response to coronavirus, blaming him for downplaying the impact the virus may have while his scientific advisers have outlined the widespread implications the virus could have on life in America.

Sanders said he believes the government needs to move “aggressive” to make sure everybody in this country “understands that when they get sick with the coronavirus … that all payments will be made.”

“They don't have to worry about coming up with money for testing,” he said. “They don't have to worry about coming up with money for treatment.”

He added: “Do not worry about the cost right now. Because we're in the middle of a national emergency."

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Joe Biden got the first question of the night — and it was about the coronavirus outbreak.

"What do you say to the American people who are confronting this new reality?" CNN's Jake Tapper asked him.

"This is bigger than any one of us. This calls for a national rallying to everybody move together," Biden said.

Biden added that he wants to increase testing, and ensure that every state has access to drive-through tests. He said he's working to ensure there are more hospital beds and said he'd deal with the economic fall out "quickly."

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Tonight's Democratic debate — the first one-on-one debate between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders — just kicked off.

This is the last debate before Tuesday's primaries in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio.

You might notice the podiums are far apart: The microphones at the Democratic debate are 6 feet apart, per recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

The debate was originally scheduled to be held in Arizona in front of an audience, but was moved to studios in CNN’s Washington, DC, bureau. There is no studio audience tonight.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders bumped elbows before the start of tonight’s CNN debate.

The candidates appeared to dispense with the traditional pre-debate handshake. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines suggest you should avoid handshakes to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Watch:

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders enter their first one-on-one debate tonight under unprecedented circumstances.

The debate will be held in CNN's studios in Washington, DC, with no in-person audience as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The historic situation will serve as the backdrop to a debate in which Biden and Sanders will look to explain how they would lead the country in a moment of crisis and how their experience and policies make them best suited for the job.

Here are three things to watch in tonight's debate:

Tom Perez, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said tonight's debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders "calls for clear, compassionate leadership" in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Perez continued: "This is a serious and somber time. We all know that. Our lives are offended in ways that we did not imagine and frankly frustratingly are self preventable because we have a President who didn't prepare for this. And so that's what we are going to see tonight. I think it will be more somber."

The DNC chair went on to say that he thinks the candidates will talk about the need for Americans to come together.

"There will be disagreements here and there. I think what you will see more than anything are two leaders who are exuding that leadership," he said.

Tonight's debate comes ahead of primaries Tuesday in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio.

What we know: Bernie Sanders lost those four states to Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Joe Biden's campaign is looking to score big victories in those states as he continues his march toward the Democratic presidential nomination.

The podiums at tonight's Democratic debate are 6 feet apart per recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

The debate was moved from Arizona to studios in CNN’s Washington, DC, bureau.

The CDC is urging people to practice social distancing to combat the spread of the virus.

Here's a look at the debate stage:

To make the March 15 debate stage, candidates needed to have been allocated at least 20% of the total number of pledged delegates allocated across all of the following contests:

The allocations need to have been made by by 9 a.m. ET today.

The total delegate allocation was determined by adding together all of the delegates allocated to candidates by CNN or the Associated Press, according to the Democratic National Committee. The number of delegates needed to qualify for the debate was determined by multiplying the total delegate allocation by 0.20 and rounding the result to the nearest whole number.

The candidates' delegate percentage was calculated by dividing the number of pledged delegates allocated to them by CNN or AP by the total delegate allocation and rounding the result to the nearest whole number.

Who didn't make the debate stage: Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the only other Democratic candidate still running for president, did not qualify for the debate stage. Gabbard has won a total of two delegates from the nominating contests.