A number of diagnostic laboratories are charging twice or thrice the government-stipulated rate for home collection of samples for Covid tests, most of them taking advantage of the inability of the elderly and the ailing to visit a testing centre.
A 44-year-old resident of Tollygunge had to pay Rs 3,400 and Rs 3,000 to two labs for the Covid RT PCR test for him and his wife. The amounts included the charges for collection of swab samples from home.
The state government has stipulated that a diagnostic centre cannot charge more than Rs 950 for an RT PCR test. Laboratories are allowed to charge additional money as travelling expenses for home collection of samples, but it cannot exceed Rs 15 a kilometre.