9,502 people test positive on RT-PCR; 1850 on antigen test; PCR test fee reduced

Kathmandu / Jan 19: A record 9,502 people have been found infected with the novel coronavirus through the PCR test in a single day in Nepal in the last 24 hours.

When combined with the number of people found infected with the same virus through the antigen test, the total number of infected people amounts to 11,352 in a single day, which is also the highest number of new cases of the virus in a single day in the country.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), a total of 18078 PCR tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours. The infection rate through the PCR test remained 52.6 per cent.

1850 people were found infected with the virus through the antigen test of 5331 people in the last 24 hours, according to the MoHP.

613 people got over the infection while four succumbed to it in the last 24 hours, according to Samir Kumar Adhikari, assistant spokesperson of the MoHP.

Govt. reduces PCR test fee

The government has reduced the charge for RT-PCR test for the novel coronavirus.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), from now onwards, the fee for the test at the government laboratories will be Rs. 800 whereas the charge for the same test at the private laboratories will be Rs. 1,500.

Assistant spokesperson of the MoHP, Dr. Samir Kumar Adhikari, made public this in the weekly press briefing of the MoHP on Wednesday.

The new fee structure will come to effect from Wednesday itself.

Earlier, the fee for the PCR test was Rs. 1,000 at a government laboratory and Rs. 2,000 at a private laboratory.