Maharashtra halves charges for Covid-19 tests at private labs to Rs 2,200

There are 91 labs in the state for Covid-19 testing and about four to five more are in the pipeline

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday said the state government had reduced the charges for the Covid-19 tests conducted by private laboratories from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,200. Talking to PTI, Tope said the lowering of rates for the tests would provide a relief to the people.

"Rs 2,200 will be charged for collecting the swabs through viral transport media (VTM) from hospitals, while it would cost Rs 2,800 for collection of swab from home. Earlier, the charges were Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,200 respectively," he said.

The revised rates are the maximum these labs can charge. District collectors