Jalandhar, September 8 (wishavwarta):- To halt the spread of Covid-19 pandemic by ensuring aggressive testing, early detection and treatment, Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori said that Punjab Government has allowed private hospitals/clinics/labs to conduct Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) for COVID-19 after getting empanelled with health department.
Giving further information, Deputy Commissioner said that these kits would be provided free of cost by the health department to these empanlled institutions and health department will empanel those private hospitals/clinics/labs who are willing to offer testing to the people.
He added said that these empanelled private hospitals/labs can charge maximum Rs. 250 from a patient and the kits would be supplied to them by the health department.
He said that these private hospitals/labs must have a separate isolated area for the suspected patients of COVID-19 where sample will be taken.
He said that the person taking samples will ensure complete Personal Protective Gear. The institution should have an arrangement of biomedical waste management generated by the test as per the guidelines, he added.
Deputy Commissioner said that all rapid antigen test results must be entered into the ICMR portal using the login ID credentials provided by the health department. He said that these private institutes must maintain confidentiality of the patients’ records.