Doctor asks SC to modify order for free Coronavirus test by Pvt labs

A doctor has moved the Supreme Court with a plea to modify the April 8 order for free COVID-19 test, saying it would overburden and disincentives private laboratory, at a critical time when testing across the country has to be ramped up.

In an application, Kaushal Kant Mishra contended the ICMR guidelines fixing Rs 4,500 for private labs to conduct the test must continue with exception to the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) category, only on immediate reimbursement by government.

Maintaining that there is a clear correlation between greater testing and finding positive numbers, he pointed out India has among the lowest rates of confirmed cases, attributable to the low testing numbers.

"More than 11 million tests have been conducted across the world as of April 9, 2020, of which as per ICMR data, about 160,000 tests have been by India. While India’s positive cases are about 6,237 meaning only about 3.8% of those tested, in the United States has conducted 2.2 million tests, nearly 20% have shown up positive" his plea stated.

Mishra, through her counsel Pooja Dhar, filed an application for modification of the top court's order for free test passed in a PIL by advocate Shashwat Deo Sushi.

He said as the present pandemic numbers in India were gradually increasing, and were likely to see severe spikes in the coming weeks, this is the point at which testing capacities must be at their maximum so that governmental efforts to contain its spread can be suitably supplemented.

He further pointed out in the UK, private labs were charging as much as $425 per test, which is equal to Rs 32,500.

Though the ICMR issued a list of 67 private labs, authorised to test for COVID-19, apparently quite a few of them have reservations about going ahead with testing unless there was a commitment from the governments, either central or state to take on any extent of the burden.

With the apex court's order, several citizens, admitted to hospitals as COVID-19 suspects would wait longer for test results, putting themselves at the virus risk and causing a strain on the system. He said the present capacity appeared to be "woefully insufficient" to obtain accurate data and control the pandemic.