Coronavirus tests at state-run hospitals will not be free anymore as the Health Ministry has decided to impose fees.
In an official notification on Sunday, it said patients will have to pay Tk200 for testing if they provide their samples at collection booths. Testing samples of inpatients at hospitals will cost the same.
The fee will be Tk500 if samples are collected from homes, it said.
On June 7, the Health Services Division forwarded a proposal to the Finance Division to charge for Covid-19 tests, which was approved on June 15.
The move came to “avoid unnecessary tests and ensure better management”, the ministry said in the notification and claimed that people, who did not show any symptoms, provided their samples for testing as it was free of cost.
This decision will be effective immediately and the revenue from testing samples has to be deposited in the government treasury, the circular read.
