COVID-19: High Court notice to Delhi govt on RTPCR price cap plea

NEW DELHI:  The Delhi High Court Friday sought the AAP government’s response on a plea challenging its decision fixing a cap of `800 on RTPCR tests for detecting Covid-19 infection in the city.

Justice Navin Chawla issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its stand on the plea by an Association of Practising Pathologists which has contended that the price fixed would not cover the cost of consumables to be used in the test.

The association also contended that the price cap cannot be made applicable to TrueNat and CBNAAT tests, which are also used to detect Covid-19 infection, as they use cartridges which are very expensive. It further said that sensitivity of TrueNat and CBNAAT was 98 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively, which were much higher than that of RTPCR’open ended system test which stood at 67-70 per cent.

It also said that approximate costs incurred by the labs on TrueNat and CBNAAT tests were Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,500, respectively and were higher than the amount of Rs 1,200 for RTPCR. The Delhi government, told the court that the price cap was not applicable to CBNAAT and TrueNAT tests.