The Lagos State Government has announced a reduction in the cost of COVID-19 PCR test at its accredited private laboratories from fifty thousand, four hunderd naira to forty-five thousand, two hundred and fifty naira per PCR test commencing on the 28th of this month.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, who made this known to newsmen at the state secretariat Alausa, Ikeja, noted that the COVID-19 PCR test cost was reviewed by Lagos State COVID-19 Incident Command Structure and approved by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
According to Prof. Abayomi, government will continue to ensure heightened public surveillance for COVID and ensure access to free PCR testing at all its public health facilities.
The commissioner said the reduction in cost was to cut the expenses to be incurred by citizens who need the PCR tests for travel, work, or other purposes other than COVID symptoms or contact tracing.
While explaining that the strategy was to expand testing outlets available to the public, the commissioner said the step would address price control standardization and exploitation of the public.
The Commissioner called on citizens, particularly inbound passengers who are required by law to test on arrival, to reciprocate this gesture by booking, paying and presenting themselves at any of the accredited laboratories’ consortium at approved days for their PCR tests on arrival in Lagos.
Prof. Abayomi, however, noted that PCR tests at approved public health laboratories and sample collection centers around the State remains absolutely free for citizens who need to test for COVID; either because they have COVID like symptoms or have been exposed to a positive case.
He frowned at the dubious and irresponsible actions of some inbound passengers who present fake PCR tests and COVID vaccination cards and fill in false travel information in an attempt to bypass the national COVID guidelines.
