Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed a price cut for the more reliable RT-PCR tests for COVID-19. Though these tests are being conducted free of cost in government hospitals, they can cost up to Rs 2,400 in private laboratories.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief tweeted the information on Monday days after being pulled by the High Court, the Supreme Court on the state of pandemic /containment in the capital and the centre's intervention amid a third wave of coronavirus infections, which seems to be waning.
The Centre has called an all-party meeting of floor leaders in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on December 4 to discuss the COVID-19 situation, sources said. The meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they said.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi held virtual meetings with 3 teams- Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd, Pune, Biological E Ltd, Hyderabad and Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd, Hyderabad- that are working on developing and manufacturing coronavirus vaccine.
On November 24, the Prime Minister held a meeting with chief ministers of various states over the pandemic situation.
The number of COVID-19 cases reported in India in a span of 24 hours dropped below 40,000 for the seventh time this month, taking the infection tally to 94.31 lakh, while the recoveries surged to 88,47,600, according to the Union Health Ministry's data updated on Monday.
The total coronavirus cases mounted to 94,31,691 with 38,772 new infections, while the death count climbed to 1,37,139 after 443 more fatalities were reported, the data updated at 8 am showed.