How to avail COVID-19 Test for Free of Cost in India

Those who like to be tested in private labs, the ICMR has issued a guideline for the novel Coronavirus testing that the maximum cost is capped at Rs.4,500. This includes the 1st screening test which costs Rs.1,500 and the 2nd confirmation test which costs Rs.3,000.

Yes, treatment of novel Coronavirus can be availed free of cost by beneficiaries of the PMJAY scheme.

Upon testing positive for the novel Coronavirus, you need to get yourself admitted at one of the PMJAY empanelled hospitals and avail free treatment upon submitting your PMJAY ecard.

Yes, the test charges are covered under the Centre’s health assurance scheme PMJAY.

Test results of COVID-19 are generally made available within a few hours to 48 hours. There are several government-approved private labs which claim to provide the results in 24hours.

– July 6, 2020

In the macroeconomic report for June 2020, the Indian Finance Ministry has mentioned that the COVID-19 curve in the country has flattened to an extent. One of the reasons for such flattening is said to be the early containment measures undertaken by the Centre and the State Governments. The report has used the term ‘green shoots’ to describe revival in the economy for May and June. The indicators for such revival have been mentioned as consumption of fuel and electricity, movement of goods throughout the country, and growth in financial transactions in the retail sector. Other points include an increase in e-way bills, railway freight and collection of tolls along with other indicators. However, the report also mentioned that compared to previous year levels, the numbers were less. The report has come on a day when the total number of COVID-19 cases in India has gone beyond 7 lakhs.

– July 1, 2020

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech has developed a vaccine for the deadly novel coronavirus in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (NIV) – Covaxin. The vaccine has got approval for human trials. The virus strain was isolated by NIV and then was transferred to Bharat Biotech to develop the vaccine. After the company submitted the results from preclinical studies, immune response and demonstrating safety, it was granted approval to conduct human trials in Phases 1 and 2. The trails are expected to begin in July this year. The development of the vaccine was accelerated through national regulatory protocols and the results have been encouraging and show high levels of safety and efficacy.

– June 30, 2020

The Madhya Pradesh Government has announced the ‘Kill Corona’ campaign that will begin from the first of July. The campaign involves screening all households in Madhya Pradesh in a fortnight. The ‘Kill Corona’ campaign will begin from Madhya Pradesh’s capital, Bhopal. Survey Teams have been created for screening the population and they will also ask about diseases such as Dengue and upload the same on the Sarthak application. Malaria and Diarrhoea are also a part of the list of diseases. The state’s population is around eight crores. The door-to-door campaign aims to cover the entire state including urban and rural areas. Information related to vector-borne diseases will also be asked to provide immediate treatment to those who are affected. To ensure that the campaign is a success, 10,000 teams will cover the state. A single team is expected to cover 100 households in a day.

– May 11, 2020

In an effort to provide complete information about the varied activities initiated by the government to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus or COVID-19 in the state, the Kerala government has launched an interactive health portal. It was launched by the State Health Minister and announced that the portal will be available to the public at all times. It offers details through an interactive dashboard about the primary indicators of the virus. The portal also has a section called “Fish Tank” to involve school children. It also offers the number of patients under isolation and will have a chatbot to interact with people.

– May 4, 2020

The central government has confirmed that there are enough coronavirus testing kits in Hyderabad. The team from the Centre toured the city and informed the central government that there are adequate testing kits available for testing, facilities and PPEs are in place to check the spread of the novel coronavirus in the city. Apart from tracking, the state government is capable of testing patients for COVID-19 and discharging them after following quarantine measures.

– May 3, 2020

India completed 1 million tests to ascertain people infected with the deadly COVID-19 (Coronavirus). This was confirmed when the country witnessed the sharpest ever increase in COVID-19 positive cases. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been attempting to increase testing and the 1 million tests is a milestone by the ICMR. The real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests are found to be more effective in determining if the person has contracted COVID-19 and the 1 million tests is indeed a major milestone in the country’s fight against the spread of the virus.

– April 21, 2020

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) through their Twitter handle issued an advisory stating that hydroxychloroquine is a prescription medicine and should be purchased only with a prescription. The sale and prescription of hydroxychloroquine are totally prohibited without a doctor’s prescription. The ministry also said that people should not consume any medicine without a prescription for coronavirus disease. Through the tweet, the ministry said that it is harmful to consume hydroxychloroquine as it may have severe effects on your health. The medicine is currently approved to be used for patients who have been clinically advised, health care workers who come in close contact with a COVID-19 case and household contacts of positive cases. It also said that adequate quantities of hydroxychloroquine have been already procured.