COVID-19 testing at private labs fixed at Rs 4,500

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday asked private diagnostic labs to charge no more than Rs 4,500 for COVID-19 tests, but also “encouraged” them to offer tests for free in times of a national emergency.

The private labs have been told that COVID-19 tests should be done only when prescribed by a qualified physician as per the guidelines issued by the Indian Council for Medical Research. “Private lab testing is to ensure real-time reporting to Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme and the ICMR headquarters for timely initiation of contact tracing and research activities,” ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava had said.

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ICMR will share standard operating procedure for laboratory testing and provide positive controls for establishing the test as soon as the private laboratory concerned has procured the primers, probes and reagents.