Uttar Pradesh caps RT-PCR coronavirus test at Rs 1,600 in private labs

The Uttar Pradesh government can has capped the cost of RT-PCR coronavirus test at Rs 1,600 as against Rs 2,500 earlier at private laborataries, on Thursday.

The move comes amid a drop in overall prices of RT-PCR test kits. The state has also fixed the maximum price of confirmatory TrueNat tests at Rs 1,600.

Additional Chief Secretary Health Amit Mohan Prasad issued the orders and said that action would be taken on laboratories charging more than Rs 1,600.

The Yogi Adityanath-led government has also allowed tests to be conducted without the need for a prescription as per the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for 'testing on demand' for COVID-19.

Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is a laboratory technique widely used in the diagnosis of genetic diseases and to measure gene expression in research.

Uttar Pradesh has recorded over 2.85 lakh confirmed cases of COVID-19. There are 64,028 active cases of infection in the state, with the death toll at 4,112.