Coronavirus Update: Uttar Pradesh govt caps rate of COVID-19 test by private labs at ₹2,500

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday capped the rate of a coronavirus test by private laboratories at ₹2,500. An official statement said that private labs will have to provide samples for quality audit whenever required, and added, "Charging above ₹2,500 will be considered a violation of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897."

The first test for coronavirus detection in any Uttar Pradesh private lab will come for a maximum of Rs 2,500, the Yogi Adityanath government has given its approval. earlier the labs were charging over Rs 4,000.

Principal Secretary Health Amit Mohan Prasad, in an order, said: “The infection can be confirmed in a single step test. In such a situation, those who are not coronavirus positive will have to give only Rs 2,500.”

He said that the ICMR did not set the fee for the single-step test from the kit, so all the private labs were charging Rs 4,500.

So far, even if a person is not infected with Coronavirus, he had to pay a fee of Rs 4,500 for the initial test. Now the person will get a single step check and if the coronavirus is not confirmed, then he will not have to go for the second step check. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had not yet determined the single-step test fee from the kit.

He informed that private labs have to send their reports online to the ICMR and the CMO of the district concerned. Strict action will be taken if there is a complaint of overcharging. After deliberations, the government has fixed a single-phase check of Rs 2,500.