AP govt. slashes price of COVID-19 test in private labs
The Andhra Pradesh government, on 15 December, reduced the price of COVID-19 RT-PCR test in private labs to Rs. 475 (for samples that are sent by the government) and Rs. 499 (for individuals who directly approach labs).
By Newsmeter Network Published on 15 Dec 2020 2:35 PM GMT
Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government, on 15 December, reduced the price of COVID-19 RT-PCR test in private labs to Rs. 475 (for samples that are sent by the government) and Rs. 499 (for individuals who directly approach labs).
It may be recalled that in June, COVID-19 test prices were fixed at Rs. 2,900 and Rs. 2,400, when five private labs in the state got ICMR approval. Later, they were revised to Rs. 800 and Rs 1,000 in November.
In view of the increased availability of kits in the market and competition as more firms have started manufacturing RNA extraction kits and RT-PCR kits, the cost of reagent kits has decreased. AP government, after careful examination of the matter, revised the rates for RT-PCR testing to be charged by private laboratories.
COVID-19 tests can be done only in ICMR-approved laboratories and all other conditions laid down by the ICMR and the AP government shall apply. All private NABL and ICMR-approved labs are instructed to follow the above guidelines and all the hospitals, institutes, and labs are instructed to display the rates. All DMHOs have been directed to closely monitor and enforce the prices strictly and give wide publicity.
On Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh reported 500 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total cases in the state to 8,76,336 while the death toll increased to 7,064 as five more people succumbed to the virus.
