ICMR asks states to revise cost of Covid-19 test; material cost may reduce

India has reported a total number of 1,51,767 cases of coronavirus, of which 64,425 have been cured/discharged while 4,337 have lost their lives

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has asked states and Union Territories to revise the cost of RT-PCR tests for coronavirus at private laboratories, saying the prices of testing materials are "undergoing reduction."

ICMR Director General Prof (Dr) Balram Bhargava wrote a letter to the chief secretaries of the states and administrations of the Union Territories asking them to negotiate with private labs and fix up mutually agreeable prices for samples being sent by the government and to discuss with them the strategy for Covid-19 testing.

In the letter dated May 25, Bhargava said that the ICMR had earlier