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President Donald Trump talks to reporters at the US Capitol after attending the Senate Republicans weekly policy luncheon on March 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images/AFP)
The White House announced Tuesday that major insurance companies have pledged to cover coronavirus tests at no cost to patients.
However, many Americans are concerned about the lack of availability of the COVID-19 tests. While the capacity for labs to test more patients is growing daily, the U.S. still has nowhere near the capacity for millions of tests that public health officials say are needed.
The White House has said that it is working to send 1 million coronavirus tests across the U.S. with 4 million more to come. They White House has also discussed a stimulus package to respond to the coronavirus outbreak including a payroll tax cut.
However, many critics have said that Trump has downplayed the coronavirus threat.
U.S. The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, tweeted on Tuesday: "The Trump administration seems to believe that the answer to any problem is a tax cut. This is a HEALTH CARE crisis."
Meanwhile across the United States, communities have instituted drastic responses to stem the risk of spreading COVID-19. As of Tuesday evening, there were 959 cases of the coronavirus, according to the
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Response Center
.
Officials now believe 70 COVID-19 cases are tied to a biotech conference in Boston and infections turning up at 10 nursing homes in hard-hit Washington state.
New York state created a "containment zone" in New Rochelle. Schools and other facilities attracting large gatherings will be closed within a one-mile radius of a synagogue believed to be the center of the area's cluster.
New York's governor announced he is sending the National Guard to scrub public places and deliver food there.
Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden also abruptly canceled rallies due to worries about the virus.
Dozens of universities have also cancelled in-person classes and moved instruction online.
Thousands of students are left scrambling to find their way home while their professors puzzle over how to move weeks of courses to the internet.
Some universities and colleges are pausing campus classes for a few days or weeks, including Columbia, Princeton and Indiana University, while others are canceling classes through the end of the term, including Stanford and Harvard.
Story with information from the Associated Press.
