Karnataka to penalise private labs for delay in testing of COVID-19 samples

Bogged down by complaints of inordinate delay in testing of samples sent by the government to private labs, the State government has decided to incentivise early testing (within 24 hours) through the RT-PCR method while penalising late testing (beyond 48 hours) by private labs.

According to a Government Order issued on Thursday, the government will pay an incentive of 10% of the testing cost of each sample to the private lab if the report is made available and entered into the ICMR portal within 24 hours of the sample being sent to it.

The government had, in April, fixed a price of ₹2,250 for every sample sent by it to private labs for testing. While the regular price will be paid for the samples that are tested and entered into the ICMR portal within 48 hours, a penalty of 10% will be slapped for every sample whose testing period goes beyond 48 hours.

The government has also decided to initiate disciplinary action against the staff of government labs if testing of 25% of the sample load at a particular lab is kept pending beyond a week. All dues towards sample testing in private labs will be cleared in a time-bound manner, the order stated.