Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, has rejected the idea of private laboratories conducting tests for coronavirus free-of-cost after the Supreme Court suggested that the Centre should create a mechanism wherein private laboratories conducting COVID-19 tests do not charge exorbitant fees from public and government should reimburse the fees charged by labs.
Testing in private labs will plummet if made free, Shaw was quoted as saying in several media reports, as she appealed to the apex court to reconsider its advice on free testing of patients suspected of having coronavirus. Stating that free testing was not a "practical idea," Shaw said that at least 10 per cent of the tests conducted in private labs could be free.
A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Ravindra Bhat was told by the Centre on Wednesday that earlier 15,000 tests were conducted per day by 118 labs and later to enhance the capacity, 47 private labs were allowed to conduct the COVID-19 tests.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi seeking a direction to the Centre and authorities to provide free of cost testing facility for COVID-19 to all citizens in the country.
Sudhi told the bench that there should be free testing of COVID-19 by labs in the country as it is expensive.
(with PTI inputs)
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