Delhi govt issues order on fixing of COVID-19 test rate at Rs 2400

(Eds: Adds govt order details)

New Delhi, Jun 18 () The Delhi government on Thursday issued an order to fix the price of COVID-19 tests performed by laboratories at Rs 2,400 each.

The order comes a day after the Union Home Ministry capped the price for the COVID-19 RT-PCR test in the national capital.

The order said the Delhi Disaster Management Committee has accepted the recommendations of the committee under Dr V K Paul, member of NITI Aayog, for fixing reasonable rate for COVID-19 test performed by private labs in Delhi at Rs 2,400.

The rate includes GST, other taxes, if any, cost involved in picking and transportation of samples, documentation and reporting with immediate effect.

Authorities at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) here earlier in the day said the new rate has been brought into effect from Thursday.

SGRH is a dedicated COVID-19 facility in central Delhi and its laboratory is one of the over 40 facilities authorised by Delhi government to conduct the tests.

"We welcome the revision of the rate, and the new rate has already been implemented from today. The new rate is quite feasible, especially in the difficult time of this pandemic," Dr DS Rana, Chairman, Board of Management, SGRH, was quoted as saying by an official.

Many private facilities, however, earlier had said they had "not received any order from the government".

But once the Delhi government order is issued, laboratories are to comply with it.

"We will follow the government-mandated pricing from tomorrow, as the order has been issued. We are working for the well-being of the community and will continue to do so," said Dr Arjun Dang, CEO of Dr Dangs Lab.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday also tweeted, saying the COVID-19 test rate has been reduced to Rs 2,400.

Following Union Home Minister Amit Shah's decision to double the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Delhi, 16,618 samples have been collected on June 15 and 16, compared to 4,000 to 4,500 daily tests till June 14, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday.

Delhi recorded 2,877 fresh coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest single-day spike here, taking the tally in the city to over the 49,000-mark, while the death toll from the disease climbed to 1,969 according to the latest health bulletin released by the Delhi government.

The bulletin said 3,21,302 tests have been conducted till date. KND http://ptinews.com/images/pti.jpg "We bring the World to you" Disclaimer : This e-mail message may contain proprietary, confidential or legally privileged information for the sole use of the person or entity to whom this message was originally addressed. Please delete this e-mail, if it is not meant for you. RDM RDM