Rwandan Governmet is considering to slash testing cost for Covid-19, an official source confirmed Monday to APA in Kigali.
Referring to the latest resolution by the Government, it is expected ha Covid-19 rapid tests will come down by between 40 to 50 per cent from the current Rwf10,000 ($10 USD) to allow more people to take tests frequently.
According to the Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, plans are underway to bring down the cost of the tests to enable more Rwandans to take tests frequently.
“The prices are going to come down soon. The reduction in costs has been considered by the government and is in the process of being addressed,” the senior Rwandan Health official said.
In a move to achieve this target, the government is considering to either intervene by subsidizing the costs by paying part of it or engage service providers to curb their profit margins.
Other options of bringing down the cost of a service is by consolidating orders of reagents and supplies used for the process when ordering from the respective suppliers to enjoy economies of scale and a bargain, it said.
Apart from local residents, Rwanda curently imposes all travelers to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival at the airport.
This is subject to the payment of 60 USD (50USD for covid-19 test and 10USD for specific logistics at the airport.
CU/abj/APA