No prescription needed for Covid test in Mumbai’s private labs now

Citizens can now get tested for Covid-19 from private clinics without requiring any doctor’s prescription or self-declaration after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

Citizens can now get tested for Covid-19 from private clinics without requiring any doctor’s prescription or self-declaration after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday issued an order.

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In view of the importance of early detection of the disease, the civic body has decided to allow citizens to get tests done from all 17 private clinics approved by the BMC without needing any prescription. This comes into effect from Wednesday. In Thane too, symptomatic residents can get themselves tested without showing a prescription, as per the civic chief’s directive on Tuesday.

The cost for Covid tests is ₹2,500 for swab samples collected in private clinics or health camps and ₹2, 800 for sample-collection at home.

Earlier, the testing charges were capped at ₹4,500, which was recently brought down. By allowing everyone to get the tests done, BMC is aiming to increase the testing numbers from the current 4,000-5,000 tests daily.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, BMC said, “Earlier, a doctor’s prescription was mandatory for getting tests done. The condition has now been removed. This will make it easier for citizens to get tested. If the test is positive, a bed will be allotted by the team set up by us in local civic ward offices. This will help patients get timely treatment, which is much more crucial for early recovery.”

BMC further stated that those who are in institutional quarantine facilities (those who are high-risk contacts of a Covid-19 patient) will be allowed to go home only after their Covid-19 tests are negative.

Prior to this, the civic body had permitted testing only for those contacts who had symptoms and could produce a doctor’s prescription.

Later on June 7, BMC allowed all direct and high-risk contacts of the patient, including asymptomatic, to get tested by a private lab without requiring a doctor’s prescription. The tests were said to be carried out between five and 10 days of coming in contact with the patient. Now any citizen can approach a private laboratory if he or she suspects they were infected and want to get tested for Covid-19.

In Thane, earlier, no testing was allowed without a prescription, however, the new civic commissioner, Dr Vipin Sharma, on Tuesday has given directives to test symptomatic patients without prescription.

“Earlier, general practitioners were not allowed to prescribe testing for Covid-19. Only doctors from fever clinic or corporation was allowed to prescribe for the test. However, we have now given them permission. This is to ensure that timely treatment is provided, those with symptoms can be isolated immediately if testing is done. This will also help break the chain for Covid-19 in the city,” said Sharma, commissioner.

Meanwhile, Mumbai municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal, on Tuesday, directed all ward officers of 24 administrative wards in the city to increase daily testings in high-risk zones by conducting rapid antigen tests every day through setting up camps or using mobile vans. The ward officers have been directed to conduct at least 250 rapid tests through private laboratories assigned to the wards. For high- risk zones, the commissioner has directed officers to collect samples of all symptomatic individuals as well as their contacts having co-morbidities. A circular regarding this was issued on Tuesday and has come into effect already.

(with inputs from Ankita G Menon)