RT-PCR test rates in Maharashtra slashed by ₹300

The state on Wednesday reduced the cost of the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests — considered the gold standard of Covid-19 testing — by Rs300 in each of the three slabs.

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Now, a test through a private laboratory will cost ₹1,900, ₹2,200 or ₹2,500, depending from where the swab sample was collected.

State health minister Rajesh Tope announced the decision, which is the second time the state has reduced the Covid testing rates. Earlier, the test cost was ₹4,500, which was reduced to ₹2,800 for home collection.

“A committee was appointed to revise the rates of these tests. Now it has been reduced further by ₹300. Now, the collection of swab at laboratories will cost ₹900, instead of ₹2,200. For swab collection at Covid Care Centres and institutional quarantine centres, the tests will cost ₹2,200, instead of ₹2,500. For swab collection at home, the cost will be ₹ 2,500, instead of ₹2,800,” a statement from the health department said.

The minister in the statement added that private laboratories will not be allowed to charge above the revised rates now.

The conditions for a person to get a test done have been relaxed by district authorities and local civic bodies, allowing people without any symptoms to also get tested without any prescription from a doctor.