Odisha fixes Rs 2,200 for COVID-19 test in private labs

Bhubaneswar, Jul 3 () The Odisha government on Friday fixed Rs 2,200 as the price for conducting the RT-PCR test to detect COVID-19 in private labs in the state, as per a notification.

The state government also named four private laboratories, approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research, where the tests can be conducted.

"...the (state) government has fixed the maximum price for RT-PCR COVID-19 test by private laboratories at the rate of Rs 2,200 inclusive of GST and all other incidental charges for private individuals desirous of testing," a notification issued by the Home Department said.

The tests can be conducted at Apollo Hospital, IMS & SUM Hospital, InDNA Life Science at KIIT Technology Business Incubator (KIIT-TBI), and GenX Diagnostics. All these labs are located in Bhubaneswar.

The tests will be conducted by private laboratories under the supervision of Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar following ICMR guidelines regarding the testing protocols for RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) COVID-19 tests, it said.

The state government's decision came a day after the central government clarified that the state authorities must not restrict an individual from getting tested for COVID-19 at the ICMR-approved laboratories.

So far, the state has conducted 2,81,523 tests for COVID-19 and of them, 8,106 people have been found to be positive. AAM SOM RDM RDM