Free COVID-19 RT-PCR test for people of Delhi, report within 6 hours: Know other benefits

The step taken will help in adding more capacity to COVID-19 testing.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday inaugurated a mobile COVID-19 RT-PCR Lab at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in New Delhi, jointly launched by SpiceHealth and the ICMR.

This testing lab and more such labs which are planned to be set up, will help in adding more capacity to COVID-19 testing. The lab is accredited by NABL and approved by the ICMR.

RT-PCR tests are most decisive and crucial for COVID-19 testing. These tests will cost Rs 499 and the cost of testing will be borne by the ICMR. The people of Delhi will not have to bear any cost. This initiative is a step in making COVID-19 testing affordable and more accessible to the common person.

The test report would be available within 6 to 8 hours from the time of sample collection compared to the average 24 to 48 hours taken by similar test reports.

SpiceHealth has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the ICMR for setting up testing facilities (laboratories) and collection centres across the country. To begin with, the first testing facility has been set up in Delhi. More such testing facilities will come up in different parts of the National Capital over the coming days.It is planned to set up 10 labs in the first phase.

At the outset, each lab would be able to test up to 1,000 samples per day and testing would slowly be ramped up to 3,000 samples per day per lab.

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan also participated in the inauguration function. The Secretary DHR and Director General of the ICMR, Dr Balram Bhargava, the Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet, Ajay Singh and the CEO of SpiceHealth, Avani Singh also took part in the inauguration ceremony.

The rate for an RT-PCR test, considered to be the most accurate COVID test worldwide, in other laboratories was fixed at Rs 2,400 by a government-appointed committee and the report is normally available in 24-48 hours.

Delhi's health infrastructure has started improving after Shah chaired a high-level meeting on November 15 and gave 12 instructions, following a fresh spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the national capital.

The spurt in the number of coronavirus cases in Delhi was witnessed since October 28, when the daily rise breached the 5,000-mark for the first time. It crossed the 8,000-mark on November 11.

The city recorded 6,746 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking the total number of cases to 5,29,863, while 121 more fatalities pushed the death toll due to the disease to 8,391 in the city. The fresh cases came out of the 54,893 tests conducted on Saturday, including 23,433 RT-PCR tests, according to a bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.