New Delhi: The center has capped the testing of COVID at Rs 2,400 in a key decision on Wednesday. The earlier cost of the COVID test was Rs 4,500. A report was submitted by a committee headed by NITI Aayog Member Dr. V K Paul. The decision was taken based on this report.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday, it said that it has been decided to fix the rate of COVID test at Rs 2,400. This is done in accordance with the directives of Home Minister Amit Shah to provide relief to the common man.
The expert committee report on Covid-19 testing rates has been sent to the Delhi government for necessary action after being received by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Some labs are waiting for a detailed order in the capping. Other labs have expressed their agreement on the decision of the government. The Chairman of Board, Dr. D S Rana, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said that in the current situation, the price of Rs 2,400 is quite feasible for the common man.
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He says that according to their calculations, they would also have suggested the same price. The owner of a private lab said that they were waiting for a detailed order from the Ministry. It looked a little tough to them at that time.
There were 2,414 new cases on Wednesday in Delhi. Now, the total number of cases in Delhi is 47,102. 67 people have succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours. The death toll now stands at 1,904. The fatality rate of the city is at 4% which is much higher than the national fatality rate at 3.36%.
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8,093 tests have been conducted in the city in the last 24 hours. 3,12,576 tests have been conducted so far.
From June 18, tests will be done by the new Rapid Antigen methodology approved by ICMR, as announced by the MHA. It gives a test result in about half an hour and costs Rs 450.
The MHA said that priority will be given to Delhi for these kits. A total of 169 centers have also been set up for the testing.
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As was decided in the meeting on Sunday between Home Minister Amit Shah and CM Arvind Kejriwal, testing has been doubled as claimed by the MHA. According to the MHA, a total of 16,618 samples have been collected between June 15 and 16.
The daily collection varied between 4,000-5,000 till June 14. The MHA also said that a total of 6,510 reports were received and the remaining will be received by June 18.
It has been decided at a meeting of the Southwest district administration, that at least 1,000 tests will be conducted in a day including all the people at containment zones. DM Rahul Singh said that there will be an increase in the number of tests once they receive the rapid antigen test kits.
The government-run dispensaries across the district will also collect samples. The 44 medical officers, who will be the single-point contact for all the COVID-related queries have been asked to recommend the test to anyone with flu-like symptoms.
A house-to-house survey will be done in the containment zones, as said by the MHA during the meeting on Sunday. This will help in improving contact mapping. The MHA also said that more than 75% of people in the 242 containment zones have been surveyed in two days.
A survey of about 1,77,692 people out of the 2,30,466 people in 242 containment zones has been conducted between June 15-16. The rest of the surveys will be completed by June 20.
A proposal to ensure that the private hospitals ensure 60% of their beds to COVID patients at low rates was also discussed at the meeting. A report was to be submitted on the same Monday by the panel. It has not been confirmed by the MHA if the report has been submitted or not.
