Coronavirus: Delhi recorded 50 new COVID-19 cases and 4 related fatalities on Tuesday. (File)
Delhi government slashed the price of RT-PCR tests - the gold standard for detecting COVID-19 - from Rs 800 to Rs 500 in the city today, according to an order issued by the health department. Earlier, people were required to pay Rs 800 for these tests.
These tests are, however, conducted for free in Delhi's government hospitals.
"Delhi govt drastically reduces corona test rates. This will help the common man," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.
Additionally, the government has also reduced the prices of the tests in case of home collection of samples, the order said. Till now, in such a case, people were required to pay Rs 1,200 but this has been reduced to Rs 700.
In case of RT-PCR tests where samples are collected by private lab teams for the government and then processed at their labs, the price has been fixed at Rs 400.
For a rapid antigen test (RAT), which directly detects the presence or absence of an antigen, the price will be Rs 300, the government order stated.
The order also said that all labs and private hospitals have been directed to comply by the new prices within 24 hours.
The move by the Delhi government comes at a time when the city has been consistently reporting a decline in daily Covid cases as the deadly second wave of the pandemic recedes. On Tuesday, the city reported 50 new COVID-19 cases and 4 related deaths, according to data shared by the health department. The positivity rate also dropped to 6.02 per cent while the fatality rate stands at 1.74 per cent during the same period. 91,100 beneficiaries were vaccinated against COVID-19 in the period and 1,01,34,821 beneficiaries have been inoculated so far in the city, the bulletin showed.