Supreme Court orders free coronavirus testing at private labs

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The Supreme Court has ordered private medical labs across the country to not charge patients for testing for Covid 19.

According to the Supreme Court, tests relating to Covid-19 whether in approved government laboratories or approved private laboratories shall be free of cost.

  • United diagnosticss

    United diagnosticss

The court added that coronavirus tests must be carried out in NABL-accredited labs or any agencies approved by the WHO or ICMR.

The apex court also said that the issue of whether the labs will be reimbursed by the government will be decided later.

“Private hospitals including laboratories have an important role to play in containing the scale of the pandemic by extending philanthropic services in the hour of national crisis,” the Supreme Court observed.

 

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court suggested that the Centre should create a mechanism wherein private laboratories conducting Covid-19 tests do not charge exorbitant fees from public and government should reimburse the fees charged by labs.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Ravindra Bhat was told by the Centre that earlier 15,000 tests were conducted per day by 118 labs and later to enhance the capacity, 47 private labs were allowed to conduct the Covid-19 tests.

The top court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi seeking a direction to the Centre and authorities to provide free of cost testing facility for Covid-19 to all citizens in the country.

Sudhi told the bench that there should be free testing of Covid-19 by labs in the country as it is expensive.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said it is a developing situation and government at this juncture does not know how many laboratories will be needed and how long the ongoing lockdown will continue.

To this, the bench suggested that the Centre should ensure that private laboratories do not charge high amount and government should create a mechanism for reimbursement of the fees charges for the tests.

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