Covid-19: Delhi government slashes price of RT-PCR test to Rs800

The cost of a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for detection of the coronavirus (Covid-19) disease in Delhi has been slashed by almost 67% to Rs 800 per test, state health minister Satyendar Jain said on Monday.

As per the latest order issued by the state health department on Monday, RT-PCR tests from all private laboratories in Delhi will cost Rs 800, whereas home collection of samples will cost Rs1,200. Until Sunday, the cost of an RT-PCR test was capped at Rs2,400 irrespective of whether a person visits the laboratory or testing centre or gets the test done at home.

All Covid-19 tests in all government establishments will, however, continue to be free, Jain said while making the order public.

The order came after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Twitter earlier in the day that his government is planning to reduce rates of Covid-19 testing in Delhi.

“I have directed that the rates of RT-PCR tests be reduced in Delhi. Whereas tests are being conducted free of cost in government establishments, however, this will help those who get their tests done in private labs,” he wrote on Twitter.

On June 18, the Delhi government had capped the price of all Covid-19 tests in private labs at Rs 2,400. The decision was taken in a DDMA meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, and attended by Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, revenue minister Kailash Gahlot and other top officials from the Delhi Police, administration and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Prior to the Rs2,400 cap, the cost of a Covid-19 test was Rs4,500 if the private labs collected the sample and used their own kits; Rs3,500 if the government collected the samples and the private labs used their kits to test it; and Rs2,200 if the government collected the sample and provided the test kit as well. While the government paid these charges to the private labs, residents across Delhi were charged a flat rate of Rs4,500.