the goan I network
PANAJI
Even as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and his Health Minister Vishwajit Rane repeatedly claimed a virology lab will be set up in a month’s time, Goa failed to find a place in a list of 123 laboratories across the country permitted to conduct COVID-19 detection tests.
The laboratories have all been approved for conducting tests to detect COVID-19 by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) including 12 additional private labs which were given the nod on Monday. The Union Health Ministry said the 12 private-lab chains which have 15,000 collection centres have been granted approval, including five labs in Maharashtra, two in Haryana and Tamil Nadu, and one each in Delhi, Gujarat and Karnataka.
The ICMR said it encourages free or subsidised testing in the midst of the public health emergency.
The list includes, Lal Path Labs, Unipath Specialty laboratory limited, Strand Life Sciences, SRL Limited, Neuberg Anand Reference Laboratory, Thyrocare Technologies Limited, Suburban Diagnostics (India) Pvt. Ltd., Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Molecular Medicine, Reliance Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Dept. of Clinical Virology, CMC, Vellore and the Department of Laboratory Services, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, Chennai.
Interestingly three of these 12 labs approved on
Monday include Lal Path Labs, Thyrocare Technologies Limited and SRL limited have franchises in some cities in Goa, including Panaji and Margao.
The Union health ministry however does not specify whether the Goa franchises of these three labs it approved on Monday will be collection centres where they will accept testing for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the Centre has stipulated that the maximum charge for each test for COVID-19 should not exceed Rs 4,500. This includes Rs 1,500 for a screening test in case of suspects and an additional Rs 3,000 for the final confirmation test.
