The price control committee of Maharashtra health department has put a cap on Rapid RT-PCR testing at Mumbai International Airport. It will now cost Rs 1,975 per test.
Earlier, it was priced at Rs 4,500 per test, however after repeated requests from the state, it was brought down to Rs 3,900.
The Maharashtra government found the rate high and asked MIAL to reduce rates further. Eventually, after some nudging by additional chief secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas, the rates were capped at Rs 1,975 per test, after a detailed assessment by IRS officer Dr Sudhakar Shinde.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 684 new coronavirus cases, eight of them infected with the Omicron variant, and 24 fresh fatalities, the health department said.
With these fresh additions, the statewide coronavirus caseload rose to 66,45,136 and the death toll increased to 1,41,288, a health bulletin said.
On Monday, the state reported 569 new COVID-19 cases and five fatalities.
Eight new patients were found to be infected with Omicron, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Pune-based National Institute of Virology, the health department said.
Seven of them were from Mumbai and one from its satellite township of Vasai-Virar, the department said, adding none of the eight had an international travel history.
A total of 686 patients were discharged during the day, which raised the state's overall recovery count to 64,93,688, the bulletin said.
There are now 6,481 active coronavirus cases in Maharashtra.
(With agency inputs)
