Livemint : Jul 08, 2020, 12:17 PM
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday decided that a doctor's prescription would not be required for a covid-19 test anymore. This has been done to increase the number of covid-19 tests in the city.Earlier, only patients with symptoms and a doctor's prescription were allowed to get tested. Recently, ICMR had issued guidelines, asking states to do away with doctor's prescription for coronavirus testing.This also comes as a reprieve for citizens who want to get tested for coronavirus but don't show symptoms or a high-risk contact.Municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal took the decision to allow testing without medical prescription in view of increase in the number of private laboratories and their capacity, BMC said in a release.For covid-19 testing, private labs will have to charge rates fixed by the government at ₹2,500. The rate is ₹2,800 if the test is conducted at home.According to the BMC, 3,63,120 tests have been conducted in the city so far.On Tuesday, Mumbai added 806 new cases, its lowest single day figure in nearly two months. Total number of cases in Mumbai stand at 86132."The @mybmc has decided to open up testing to any individual in the city without prescription/ self attestation. Labs can now conduct RT PCR tests as per ICMR guidelines at the will of anyone. This will help citizens feel safer and test when they have a doubt, without any delays," Aaditya Thackeray, guardian minister of Mumbai suburban district, tweeted.