Doctor's prescription not needed for Covid-19 test in Gujarat now

A doctor's prescription will no longer be necessary to get oneself tested for coronavirus in Gujarat, the state government announced on Friday.

Earlier this week the state government had reduced the rate for RT-PCR test for coronavirus at private laboratories from Rs 1,500 to Rs 800.

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As per the new guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), people can get themselves tested at designated laboratories without any prescription or recommendation from doctors, which was compulsory till now for RT-PCR tests, a government release said.

Till June, private doctors and hospitals in Gujarat were required to get approval from government authorities even for prescribing a coronavirus test. The rule was later scrapped.

As of Thursday, Gujarat's Covid-19 caseload was 2,14,309, while the death toll had reached 4,031.