Lucknow, Jun 19 (IANS): The Yogi Adityanath government has fixed the price of COVID-19 testing by the RT-PCR method and each test will not cost more than Rs 2,500.

Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad, said that no private lab or hospital will be able to charge more than Rs 2,500 from patients for the corona testing.

This comes hours after the Centre capped the price of the corona testing.

Sharing details about the order, a government spokesman said, "The price has been fixed in two categories. The first one relates to the corona testing at private or corporate hospitals. In this case, the charges will not be more than Rs 2,000 per person. The same applies to a situation where these hospitals tie up with private labs. The second category is that of private pathology or diagnostic labs where the rate cannot exceed Rs 2,500."

The order also said that in case the labs were found to be overcharging, they will be booked under relevant provisions of the Epidemic Act.

The health officials also pointed out that all private labs will have to inform the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) of the respective districts and the ICMR in case any person was found to be positive. The labs were also expected to cooperate for quality audit.

The health officials pointed out that the decision was taken in the wake of the need for more testings.

"The rate in the private sector has been fixed to guarantee that the public does not suffer at the hands of the labs while ensuring that government labs, which are the mainstay of COVID-19 testing and surveillance, do not get overburdened," said the spokesman.