Hyderabad: The cost of getting an RT-PCR test for Covid-19 for international travellers arriving in India varies from airport to airport with the costs at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in the city on the upper side compared to some other airports in the country.
At RGIA, a regular RT-PCR test costs Rs 999, and a rapid RT-PCR test costs Rs 4,500 for passengers.
The Telangana State Government’s official rate for a regular RT-PCR test outside of the airport is Rs 850, and if a sample is collected from home, then the testing agency is allowed to collect Rs 1,200. Testing is currently mandatory for those arriving from a list of ‘at-risk’ countries for Omicron variant of the Coronavirus. There was a rush for rapid RT-PCR tests as most passengers did not want to wait for six to eight hours to get a result from the regular RT-PCR testing method.
“We were expecting few to go for the rapid tests but it turned out to be the other way. There was a rush for the rapid tests and just about 20 people opted for the regular tests,” Director of Public Health and Family Welfare Dr G. Srinivasa Rao said.
“If these protests continue, we will be forced to advise the health screening services at the airport to offer only the regular tests for all. People should have some patience. Can they not wait for a few hours at the airport for the results where all safety protocols are in place? After all Rs 4,500 is not a small sum,” he said.
However, former TPCC president P. Uttam Kumar Reddy wanted rapid tests capped at Rs 1,000.
