The Andhra Pradesh Government on Monday capped the rates for Rapid Antigen Testing for COVID-19 at both government and private laboratories in the state to Rs 750 per test. The state has also declared that those who test negative for COVID-19 in the antigen test must undergo RT-PCR tests.
In a Government Order released by the Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department on Monday, the rates for Rapid Antigen testing for samples collected at private labs are to be set at Rs 750 per test. The hospitals and the labs where the tests are carried out must have permission from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and should be a hospital or laboratory affiliated with National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH), a constituent board of Quality Council of India.
The Rs 750 test also includes 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 the institutions which intend to do rapid antigen tests should necessarily have to tie up with ICMR approved Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), the government order stated.
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. The state through the GO 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 of the private sector.
The state has requested all interested private NABH hospitals and NABL labs to apply with state nodal officers for testing permission and ICMR login credentials.
The Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas (Nani) in a statement to media said that out of the 48,956 active cases recorded in the state, around 15,000 are in home quarantine and 13,992 are admitted to COVID-19 hospitals, while 15,815 are at 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.