ZCZC
BSS-27
COVID-19-TEST-FEE
Govt. reduces COVID-19 sample test fee: Maleque
DHAKA, August 19, 2020 (BSS) – Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque
today said the government has taken decision to reduce COVID-19 sample test fee
for the convenience of common people in the country.
“At the directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we have re-fixed Taka 100
instead of Taka 200 and Taka 300 instead of Taka 500 for COVID-19 sample tests
at government-run testing facilities,” he told at a press briefing in the
conference room of the ministry, an official release said.
Maleque said earlier the government has fixed Taka 200 as sample collection fee
at the designated government hospitals and healthcare centers while it fixed
Taka 500 for sample collection from home.
The government has decreased the sample collection fee to make testing
facilities available for all levels of people to contain the pandemic, he added.
Maleque said the government has introduced telemedicine services to provide
treatment facilities to the COVID-19 patients and recovery rate from the deadly
disease is gradually increasing due to multiple healthcare measures taken by
relevant organizations of the health ministry.
He said many countries including the UK and China are in the final stage for
developing COVID-19 vaccine. “The government is constantly overseeing global
development on COVID-19 vaccine… it is keeping connections with those countries,
who are performing phase-3 human trial on invention of inoculation,” the
minister said.
He also said Bangladesh would be able to collect the coronavirus vaccine within
the shortest possible time from the countries, which are frontrunners in vaccine
development.
BSS/PR/MMR/ARS/1807 hrs