Andhra caps COVID test price as numbers cross a lakh

Naveen S Garewal
Tribune News Service
Hyderabad, July 27

Andhra Pradesh Government on Monday stepped in to prevent private labs and hospitals from charging exorbitant rates by capping the price of Rapid Antigen Testing for COVID-19 in both government and private laboratories to Rs 750 per test. Further to check the rising cases touching almost a lakh, the state has also announced mandatory RT-PCR test for those who test negative for COVID-19 antigen test.

Health, Medical, and Family Welfare Department issued an order on Monday saying the hospitals and the labs where the tests are carried out must have permission from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It would now be mandatory for the hospital or laboratory to be affiliated with the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH).

According to the latest data released by the state government, the number of COVID-19 positive cases has crossed the one lakh mark with a whopping rise of 6,051 cases in the past 24 hours. The recovery in the past 24 hours stands at 3,257 with 49 deaths. The total number of deaths stands at 1,090 in the state.

The Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas (Nani) said that out of the 51,701 active cases recorded in the state, over 15,000 were in-home quarantine and about 14,000 were admitted to COVID-19 hospitals and about 16,000 were in COVID-19 care centres. The minister also stated that his government is spending Rs 5 crore per day on testing and a total of Rs 350 crore per month on COVID-19 management.

The price of Rs 750 test will include the cost of the rapid kit, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and manpower. The Andhra Pradesh government has set a price cap of Rs 2,800 per sample for RT-PCR testing. All institutions that intend to do rapid antigen tests should necessarily have to tie up with ICMR approved Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), the government order reads.

Through this Government Order (GO), the Andhra Government also intends to give login credentials to primary, community, area, and district health care facilities across the state and also to the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) labs.

Besides, the state government had also decided to issue login credentials to as many hospitals as possible, to speed up uploading of COVID-19 test results to the ICMR portal to keep the data current.

Neighbouring Telangana that has been questioned for lower testing has reported 1473 new cases in the past 24 hours with 8 more deaths from COVID-19. The total number of COVID-19 cases reported in Telangana so far stands at 55,532 out of which 12,955 are active cases. The total number of deaths in Telangana so far is 471.