Government to set price cap for Covid-19 tests

The government will set a maximum price for molecular PCR and rapid antigen tests carried out in private clinics and laboratories, the Secretary General for Trade and Consumer Protection, Panagiotis Stampoulidis, announced on Friday.

The price cap for a PCR test will be set at 40 euros and for a rapid antigen test at 10 euros, he told journalists at the regular briefing on the pandemic.

The decision will be included in an amendment that will be tabled by the Ministry of Development in the coming days.

In the same briefing, professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vana Papaevangelou, said the committee of experts advising the government on the pandemic is not yet considering the phasing out of the restrictive measures imposed to stamp out the spread of the virus.

“The easing of the infection rate is slower than what we expected,” she said, adding that 86 percent of intensive care units in the country have been filled.

Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias identified 18 regions in the country have the largest viral load: Pella, Drama, Thessaloniki, Grevena, Florina, Pieria, Imathia, Serres, Larissa, Kilkis, Halkidiki, Magnesia, Xanthi, Karditsa, Evros, Kavala, Rodopi and Trikala.