Welcome to Friday, March 13th, caves and hills...

Well, it seems the U.S. is closed.

The Capitol. Schools and universities. The NBA. Disney World. Broadway.

The coronavirus has shut them all.

As the novel coronavirus spreads, it remains unclear - and a source of debate - over whether the federal government will guarantee free testing.

Nationally, health insurers including Cigna, Aetna, Kaiser, UnitedHealth, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and others have committed to waiving co-pays associated with testing. Medicare and Medicaid will also cover coronavirus treatment and testing.

And the House will soon vote on whether the government should provide free coronavirus testing for all.

Gavin Yamey, a physician and professor of global health and public policy at Duke University, where he directs the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health, explained that free testing is an important means of preventing disease spread:

“If any of the 28 million people without insurance develop symptoms and get coronavirus tests, they could face medical bills that could push them further into poverty… The result is that people with symptoms are reluctant to get tested."

Should insurers cover the cost of COVID-19 tests?

On the Radar

What's With that Name?

The novel coronavirus, officially dubbed SARS-CoV-2, originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease it causes has been given the name “coronavirus disease 2019” or “COVID-19.”

As the “novel” in its name indicates, this is a new disease. However, coronaviruses as a virus family aren’t new at all: they’re common in people and many animal species, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats.

"Corona" means "crown" in Latin. Coronavirus' get their name from the crown-like spikes surrounding them:

PIC-U