Gujarat govt caps price of RT-PCR COVID-19 test by private labs at ₹800 from ₹1,500

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government on Tuesday capped the price of COVID-19 RT-PCR test at Rs 800, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel said.

"The government has reduced the price of RT-PCR to Rs 800. If the patient wants doctors to come home and do the test, then it will cost Rs 1,100, which will be implemented from today," Patel informed.

Till now, the state's private labs have been charging Rs 1,500-2,000 for conducting RT-PCR test.

Earlier the state administration closed down markets in Vadodara that saw large gatherings in order to disperse the crowd amid the COVID-19 crisis on Sunday and Monday.

Meanwhile, Gujarat reported 14,790 active COVID-19 cases after it added 1,502 new infections with 20 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare department.