According to Tope, the Maharashtra govt had formed a four-member committee to fix the rates of coronavirus tests by the authorized private labs in the state.
Mumbai| On Saturday, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the government has slashed the rates of the COVID-19 tests conducted by private laboratories from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,200.
Talking to PTI, he expressed that this move will provide relief to the people.
“Rs 2,200 will be charged for collecting the swabs through viral transport media (VTM) from hospitals, while it would cost Rs 2,800 for collection of a swab from home. Earlier, the charges were Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,200 respectively,” the health minister said.
Tope also said that the revised rates are the maximum these labs can charge patients for coronavirus testing. To reduce the rates further, the district collector can negotiate the rates with labs.
“If the private labs charge more than the prescribed upper limit, legal action would be taken against them,” he warned adding that the new testing rates will be lowest in the country.
The health minister said that around 91 labs are working across the state for testing whereas four to five labs are in pipeline.
According to Tope, the Maharashtra govt had formed a four-member committee to fix the rates of coronavirus tests by the authorized private labs in the state.
On Friday, 3493 cases of coronavirus infections were found and 127 patients died in Maharashtra. More than 55 thousand infected have been found in Mumbai. NCP leader and cabinet minister Dhananjay Munde was found positive.
Maharashtra remains the worst affected state with 101141 cases. Among them 49628 are active cases, 47796 have been cured whereas the death toll is at 3717.
The state is followed by Tamil Nadu with 40698 cases and Delhi with 36824 cases. Gujarat remains the fourth most affected state with 22527 cases and 1415 deaths.
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