LAHORE: Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has lowered charges for COVID PCR test and directed the hospitals and private laboratories against overcharging, ARY NEWS reported.
According to a handout issued by the Punjab Healthcare Commission, the price for COVID-19 PCR tests has been lowered from Rs6500 to Rs4800.
“All hospitals and private laboratories are hereby directed to charge Rs4800 for the test,” it said and added that the prices were announced in the public interest and notified immediately.
The handout further warned that in case of extra charges, a hefty fine would be imposed on the health institutes and laboratories besides cancellation of their registration.
It is pertinent to mention here that the directives have come in the backdrop of increased cases and tests in the country amid fifth wave of the pandemic led by Omicron variant.
On Saturday, Pakistan reported as many as 7,963 cases of coronavirus in a single day, the second-highest daily caseload since the outbreak of the pandemic in Feb 2020, according to the National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) latest statistics.
A total of 70,389 samples were tested, out of which 7,963 turned out to be positive, showing the infection rate of 11.31 per cent. The nationwide tally of confirmed infections rose to 1,410,033 with addition of 7,963 new cases.
Read More: COVID is less severe with Omicron than Delta, US study suggests
27 more patients succumbed to the viral disease in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 29,219. The NCOC said the number of patients in critical care in various hospitals across the country has risen to 1375.
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