The Supreme Court of India has asked the central government to make coronavirus testing free of charge in private labs by an interim order.
According to the Economic Times, currently, the tests are capped at Rs 4,500 per person, while government facilities are doing it for free.
According to reports, justices Ashok Bhushan and Ravindra S Bhatt said that the bench found prima facie substance in the claim by petitioner advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi that the charges might not be affordable for most people.
Private hospitals including labs have an important role to play in containing the scale of the pandemic by extending philanthropic services in the hour of national crisis
-Supreme Court of India
The SC bench also directed the tests to be only carried out by labs certified by the National Accreditation Board for Testing ad Calibration Laboratories or agencies approved by the WHO and the ICMR.
The bench sought the government’s views on this while passing the interim order. The government will have to respond to the court notice in two weeks.