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Kolkata:
The price of more-reliable however costly RT-PCR checks for detecting COVID-19 will probably be lower to Rs950 from the sooner Rs1,250 in state’s non-public hospitals and labs, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated throughout an interplay with reporters on Thursday.
The Trinamool Congress chief additionally introduced distribution of free tablets for 9.5 lakh college students of sophistication 12 to facilitate on-line training amid continued closure of colleges in view of the coronavirus pandemic. “These tablets would be for students of 14,000 schools and 636 madrasas,” she added.
Ms Banerjee additionally introduced Three per cent dearness allowance for state authorities staff in January.
This is the second time that the worth of RT-PCR checks for personal hospitals and labs has been revised in West Bengal amid an ongoing coronavirus surge that began within the run as much as state’s all-important Durga Puja festivities.
In October, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had not solely decreased Covid take a look at price from Rs 2,250, but additionally capped the price of non-public ambulance service amid stories of sufferers being charged exorbitant charges even for brief distances.
The measures have been taken after docs wrote to Ms Banerjee warning of a “tsunami” of infections throughout Durga Puja, similar to Onam in Kerala – the place every day circumstances stay within the 4,000-6,000 vary, albeit with very low mortality fee.
West Bengal has been seeing an increase in coronavirus infections and deaths since September, with a document 4,000 circumstances being logged on October 22. The state has since persistently logged between 3,000-3,500 circumstances. Its Covid fatality fee has additionally remained greater than the nationwide common of about 1.5 per cent.
The state has to this point recorded 4.9 lakh COVID-19 circumstances with 8,527 deaths.
The price revision additionally comes within the backdrop of many states adopting related measures to advertise testing by way of RT-PCR, which some docs have stated stays prohibitively priced.
The Supreme Court can be listening to a plea that seeks the price of RT-PCR checks capped at Rs400.
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