Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said that guidelines had been issued to all the Deputy Commissioners and Civil Surgeons of state regarding allowing Rapid Antigen Testing for Covid by private health establishments.

The Punjab government has decided to allow private hospitals, clinics and laboratories to conduct Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) for Covid after empanelment with district health authorities.

Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said that guidelines had been issued to all the Deputy Commissioners and Civil Surgeons of state regarding allowing Rapid Antigen Testing for Covid by private health establishments. He said that RAT kits would be provided free of cost by the department. The Civil Surgeons will empanel those private hospitals, clinics and laboratories which are willing to get empanelled voluntarily for offering testing by RAT kits provided free of cost by the department.

The minister said that “the private hospitals/laboratories can charge maximum Rs 250 from the patients, in case the kits have been provided by the health department. Earlier, rate of Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) has been reduced from Rs 1,000 to Rs 700, inclusive of GST and other taxes, for those private labs which have been using their own RAT kits. The private hospitals/laboratories will follow standard operating procedures for use of RAT kits provided free of cost by the Department of Health and Family Welfare”.

On standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the RAT, Sidhu said that the private hospitals, clinics and laboratories should have a separate isolated area for the suspected patients of Covid where sample will be taken. “The person taking samples will ensure to wear complete personal protective gear. The institution should have an arrangement of biomedical waste management generated by the test as per the guidelines,” the minister stated.

The minister said all rapid antigen test results are entered into the ICMR portal using the login ID credentials provided by the health department. “For all asymptomatic high-risk contact of positive case and symptomatic persons, who are negative by rapid antigen test, another nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swab will have to be collected in Virus Transport Medium (VTM) and should be sent to the identified real-time RT-PCR laboratory for Covid testing as soon as possible. The private hospital shall arrange the required logistics for such samples to pack them and send to the RT-PCR testing laboratories. The same can be sent to nearest government health facility as per protocol.” He said that “the samples sent by empanelled private hospitals and clinics shall be tested free of cost at government laboratories”.