Covid-19: Odisha Government Caps Price Of RT-PCR Test By Private Labs At Rs 400

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday capped the price of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test to detect coronavirus disease (Covid-19) by private labs at Rs 400.

A notification issued by the Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) Department in this regard said, the government after careful consideration re-fix the maximum price for RT-PCR test by private laboratories at Rs 400 only, which is inclusive of GST within the State of Odisha.

"The tests will be conducted by private laboratories under supervision of RMRC, Bhubaneswar following ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) guidelines regarding the testing protocols for RT-PCR Covid-19 tests," added the H&FW department.

Earlier in July this year, the State government had capped the rate of RT-PCR tests at Rs 2,200 and later in August, it was again brought down to Rs 1200. The tests conducted at government laboratories is free of cost.

Meanwhile, the State has four private laboratories approved by IMCR where RT-PCR tests can be done. These include- Department of Lab Services in Apollo Hospitals, IMS & SUM Hospital, InDNA Life Sciences Private Limited and GenX Diagnostics.

It may be noted that Delhi, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh governments had already revised the rates of the tests.

(Edited By Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)