An order issued by the Union Health ministry said the failure to comply with the guidelines will result in legal action.
As the number of cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in the country, the central government recommended on Saturday that private laboratories and hospitals conducting confirmatory tests cap prices for the tests at Rs 4500.
All private laboratories which have NABL accreditation for real-time PCR SA for RNA virus will be allowed to conduct COVID-19 tests, according to the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for COVID-19 testing in private laboratories, which were notified by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday night.
The National Task Force recommends that the maximum cost for testing should not exceed Rs 4,500. This may include Rs 1,500 as a screening test for suspect cases and an additional Rs 3,000 for confirmation test, the guidelines said.
“However, the ICMR encourages free or subsidised testing in this hour of national public health emergency,” the guidelines stated.
