Gandhinagar, Dec 1 (IANS): Following examples of Rajasthan and Delhi, the Gujarat government on Tuesday slashed the cost of RT-PCR tests for coronavirus at private laboratories from Rs 1,500 to Rs 800 each.

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said the decision will be effective from Tuesday itself.

He said that due to the prevailing coronavirus situation in the state, a core group meeting headed by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani decided to slash the cost of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests in private laboratories.

"Earlier, there was limited supply of RT-PCR kits but now these are available due to increased production; hence the decision."

The Minister said that such tests at homes of those who wanted to get tested will cost Rs 1,100 each.

Gujarat reported 1,502 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking its tally to 2,09,780. The death toll increased to 3,989. In November, 36,836 new cases were registered.