Govt to subsidize Covid tests fee for overseas Pakistani workers, families

Ibn-e-Ameer

The government has planned to subsidize the Covid-19 testing fees for Pakistani workers and their families traveling abroad through the Bureau of Emigration.

The Cabinet has directed the National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination Division to work out mechanism and funding requirements.

It directed to submit a summary for the Economic coordination committee (ECC) of the cabinet to approve subsidizing the Covid-19 testing fees for Pakistani workers and their families traveling abroad through the Bureau of Emigration.

The cabinet decides to subsidize testing following concerns cabinet members had raised in a recent meeting.

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They raised concerns regarding the exorbitant Covid-19 testing fees being the private labs were charging, especially at the airports.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination explained that refusal by the majority of countries to accept Antigen Tests had created a monopoly for the limited private labs conducting the PCR test.

Covid Test Fee in Pakistan

The earlier capping of fees at Rs. 6,500/- also allowed these labs to exploit the situation.

He, however, apprised that rapid PCR test, which was equally reliable, was now easily available at the pharmacies.

The members exhorted on the need for government to subsidize the covid-19 testing Fees for Pakistani workers and their families traveling abroad through the Bureau of Emigration.

Briefing the Cabinet on the latest Covid-19 situation in the country, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination fretted that the number of positive cases was continuously going up.

The positivity rate of Karachi, which had shot up to 40%, has now paused at that level. The number of critical cases in the country had risen to 1000, which at peak of Covid were between 4000 to 5000.

He expected that the critical cases hospital occupancy to rise to 2000-3000 in the coming days but that would still be manageable without putting the healthcare system under stress.

The Cabinet expressed satisfaction over the astute handling of the Covid-19 situation through smart lockdowns, which now had been acknowledged internationally also to be the most prudent and effective response.

Cabinet members suggested that National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination Division should work out the mechanism and move a summary to ECC.