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Government makes COVID tests free for the poor in Bangladesh
The government has ordered the laboratories to test the poor for the coronavirus free of charge amid surging infections and deaths from COVID-19.
Published : 1 July 2021, 03:22 PM
Updated : 1 July 2021, 03:22 PM
The free tests will be available only in July, the health ministry said on Thursday.
Dr ABM Khurshid Alam, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services, said people who are unable to pay the Tk 100 fees per test will need to mention it in a form.
The poor are facing pressure to pay the fees if more than one family member develop symptoms, the ministry said.
Moreover, many have little or no interest in getting tested, but experts always emphasise tests so that the infected people can be quarantined or isolated.
Bangladesh on Thursday registered 143 new deaths from COVID-19, a daily record, taking the toll to 14,646 as the country entered into a strict weeklong lockdown to bring the situation under control.
The COVID-19 caseload surged to 921,559 after 8,301 people were diagnosed with the disease until 8am, according to the latest government data.
As many as 32,055 samples were tested across the country and these returned a positivity rate of 25.9 percent.
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