The government has set fees, Tk 200 and Tk 500, for Covid-19 testing at the public health facilities.

The decision came into force immediately, said a circular issued on Sunday by the health ministry's Health Services Division.

It said most of the people, who were not showing any symptoms, underwent the test as it was being done for free. Given the circumstances, the authorities fixed the fees to avoid unnecessary testing.

According to the circular, one has to pay Tk 500 for Covid-19 testing if samples are collected from home. The fee will be Tk 200 if samples are given to dedicated sample collection booths or public hospitals.

Any patient admitted to a public hospital will also have to spend Tk 200 for the test, reads the notice.

Private hospitals and health facilities now charge each person Tk 3,500 for Covid-19 testing. The fee goes up to Tk 4,500 if samples are collected from an individual's home.

Earlier, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) submitted a proposal to the health ministry on fixing a fee for novel coronavirus testing.

A senior DGHS official said each RT-PCR Covid-19 testing kit is being imported to the country for Tk 3,000.

The costing for the coronavirus testing goes up to around Tk 5,000 if samples are collected from a place where a person stays, he added.

Statistics of DGHS show that a total of 748,034 tests were conducted in 68 Covid-19 laboratories across the country since January 21. Of them, 18.96 percent of the samples tested positive for the virus.