Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Wednesday said that fees for coronavirus tests will be reduced soon to increase the number of tests. Tests at government hospitals cost Tk 200, which is being reduced by half. Fees for sample collection from home and test are being reduced to Tk 300 from Tk 500, said the minister.
“The new fee will come into effect in the next two days,” he said at a media briefing at the secretariat.
The health minister mentioned that the quality, availability and effectiveness of the vaccine is being analysed by keeping in constant touch with all countries.
He claimed that 70 percent beds at Covid-19 dedicated hospitals are currently empty. As a result, a large number of doctors and nurses are passing idle time.
The government is working to covert some of these hospitals into non-Covid hospitals, he said adding that this would benefit non-Covid patients more.
Bangladesh’s official coronavirus tally stands at more than 282,000 cases and over 3,700 deaths, reports UNB.
