Who can get tested for COVID-19 infection

The COVID-19 test is not required for everyone. Following are the conditions in which you need to get tested for COVID-19:

• If you have symptoms like fever, dry cough and shortness of breath.
• If you have an underlying health condition and have even one of the symptoms of COVID-19.
• If you start showing symptoms after coming back from an area that is affected by COVID-19.
• If you are taking care of a COVID-19 suspected or confirmed patient and have started showing symptoms.

Once you start getting the symptoms you need to go to your nearby authorised healthcare professional. You can get the test done only after they recommend you to.

To test COVID-19, a genetic test called rRT-PCR test (real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test) is done. This test helps in detecting the nucleic acid (the compound that contains DNA or RNA of the virus) of the COVID-19 virus present in the upper and lower respiratory tracts. 

The government has procured RT-PCR probes from the USA for the testing of COVID-19 and has distributed it to various private and government labs across the country. 

Also, some Indian companies like Altona Diagnostics and MY LAB have manufactured their COVID-19 testing kits which have been approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and National Institute of Virology (NIV).

The rRT-PCR test is being done to diagnose COVID-19 with the help of testing kits and RT-PCR probes. For the testing, healthcare professionals are collecting specimens from the following regions of the body:

• Nasopharyngeal swabs (upper part of the throat, behind the nasal cavity)
• Oropharyngeal swabs (at the back of the mouth)

COVID-19 tests are being done free of cost in all authorised government hospitals.

However, all private laboratories have been recommended by the central government to keep Rs. 4,500 as the maximum charge for the COVID-19 testing. 

As per the guidelines by the National Task Force, this charge includes Rs 1,500 as a screening test for suspected cases and further Rs 3,000 for the confirmation test. All private laboratories have to send the samples to NIV, Pune with complete precaution to get the results.

This is a list of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) authorised labs, throughout India, which have been allowed to do COVID-19 testing as of 24 March 2020:

Andhra Pradesh

1. Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati 
2. Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada 
3. Siddhartha Medical College, Vijaywada
4. Govt. Medical College, Ananthpur

Assam

1. Gauhati Medical College, Guwahati 
2. Regional Medical Research Center, Dibrugarh 
3. Jorhat Medical College, Jorhat 
4. Silchar Medical College, Silchar

Bihar

1. Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna 
2. Darbhanga Medical College

Chandigarh

1. Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh 
2. Govt. Medical College, Chandigarh

Chattisgarh

1. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur 
2. Late Baliram Kashyap M Govt. Medical College, Jagdalpur 

Delhi

1. All India Institute Medical Sciences 
2. Lady Hardinge Medical College 
3. National Centre for Disease Control 
4. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital 
5. Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences 
6. Army Hospital Research & Referral

Gujarat

1. BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad 
2. MP Shah Govt Medical College, Jamnagar 
3. Govt. Medical College, Surat 
4. Govt. Medical College, Bhavnagar
5. Govt. Medical College, Vadodara

Haryana

1. Pt. B.D. Sharma Post Graduate Inst. of Med. Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana 
2. BPS Govt. Medical College, Sonipat 

Himachal Pradesh

1. Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla 
2. Dr Rajendra Prasad Govt. Medical College, Tanda

Jammu & Kashmir

1. Govt. Medical College, Jammu 
2. Command Hospital (NC) Udhampur 
3. Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar 
4. Govt. Medical College, Srinagar 

Jharkhand

1. MGM Medical College & Hospital, Jamshedpur
2. Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi

Karnataka

1. Hassan Inst. of Med. Sciences, Hassan 
2. Mysore Medical College & Research Institute, Mysore
3. Shimoga Instt. of Medical Sciences, Shivamogga Inst. of Med. Sciences, Shivamogga
4. Command Hospital (Air Force) Bengaluru 
5. Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute, Bengaluru 
6. National Institute of Virology, Bangalore Field Unit, Bengaluru 
7. Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences, Gulbarga

Kerala

1. National Institute of Virology Field Unit, Allapuzzha 
2. Govt. Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram 
3. Govt. Medical College, Kozhikode 
4. Govt. Medical College, Thrissur 
5. Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 
6. Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences, Thiruvananthapuram
7. State Public Health Laboratory, Trivandrum 
8. Interuniversity, Kottayam

Maharashtra

1. National Institute of Virology, Pune 
2. Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital, Mumbai 
3. Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Mumbai 
4. National Institute of Virology Field Unit, Mumbai 
5. Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 
6. BJ Medical College, Pune 
7. Indira Gandhi Govt. Medical College, Nagpur
8. Grant Medical College & Sir JJ Hospital, Mumbai 

Madhya Pradesh

1. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal 
2. National Institute for Research on Tribal Health, Jabalpur 
3. Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Indore
4. Govt. Medical College, Bhopal

Manipur

1. Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Med. Sciences, Imphal-East, Manipur
2. Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal

Meghalaya

1. North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences, Shillong, Meghalaya

Odisha

1. Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneshwar
2. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneshwar

Puducherry

1. Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, Puducherry

Punjab

1. Govt. Medical College, Amritsar 
2. Govt. Medical College, Patiala

Rajasthan

1. Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur 
2. Dr Sampurnanand Medical College, Jodhpur 
3. Jhalawar Medical College, Jhalawar 
4. RNT Medical College, Udaipur 
5. SP Medical College, Bikaner 
6. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur 
7. JLN Medical College, Ajmer
8. Govt. Medical College, Kota

Tamil Nadu

1. King Institute of Preventive Medicine & Research, Chennai 
2. Madras Medical College, Chennai 
3. Govt. Theni Medical College, Theni
4. Tirunelveli Medical College, Tirunelveli 
5. Govt. Medical College, Thiruvarur 
6. Kumar Mangalam Govt. Medical College, Salem 
7. Coimbatore Medical College, Coimbatore

Telangana 

1. Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad 
2. Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad
3. Sir Ronald Ross of Tropical & Communicable Diseases, Hyderabad
4. Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad

Tripura

1. Government Medical College, Agartala

Uttar Pradesh

1. King George Medical University, Lucknow 
2. Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 
3. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh 
4. Command Hospital, Lucknow
5.  Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, Meerut 
6. Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute, Lucknow 
7. Uttar Pradesh RIMS, Saifai 
8. Regional Medical Research Centre, Gorakhpur

Uttarakhand

1. Govt. Medical College, Haldwani

West Bengal

1. National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases, Kolkata 
2. Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research, Kolkata 
3. Midnapore Medical College, Midnapore

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

1. Regional Medical Research Centre, Port Blair

This is the list of private labs which have been assigned by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to do the COVID-19 testing as of 24.03.20:

Delhi

1. Lal Path Labs, Block E, Sector 18, Rohini, Delhi 
2. Dr Dangs Lab, C-2/1, Safdarjung Development Area, New Delhi
3. Laboratory Services, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi
4. Max Lab, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, New Delhi

Gujarat

1. Unipath Specialty laboratory limited, 102, Sanoma Plaza, Opposite Parimal Garden, Besides JMC House, Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad 
2. Supratech Micropath Laboratory & Research Institute Pvt Ltd, Kedar, Ahmedabad
3. SN GeneLab Pvt Ltd, President Plaza-A, Near Mahavir Hospital, Nanpura, Surat

Haryana

1. Strand Life Sciences, A-17, Sector 34, Gurugram 
2. SRL Limited, GP26, Sector 18, Gurugram

Karnataka

1. Neuberg Anand Reference Laboratory, Anand Tower, #54, Bowring Hospital Road, Bengaluru
2. Kasturba Hospital Lab Services, Kasturba Hospital, Madhavanagar, Manipal
3. Cancyte Technologies Pvt Ltd, Sri Shankara Research Centre, Bengaluru

Maharashtra

1. Thyrocare Technologies Limited, D37/1, TTC MIDC, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai 
2. Suburban Diagnostics (India) Pvt. Ltd., 306, 307/T, 3rd Floor, Sunshine Bld., Andheri (W), Mumbai 
3. Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, Unit No. 409-416, 4th Floor, Commercial Building-1, Kohinoor Mall, Mumbai 
4. Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Molecular Medicine, Reliance Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., R-282, TTC Industrial Area, Rabale, Navi Mumbai 
5. SRL Limited, Prime Square Building, Plot No 1, Gaiwadi Industrial Estate, SV Road, Goregaon, Mumbai 
6. A.G. Diagnostics Pvt Ltd, Nayantara Building, Pune 
7. Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital Laboratory, Four Bungalows, Mumbai
8. InfeXn Laboratories Private Limited, A/131, Therelek Compound, Road No 23, Wagle Industrial Estate, Thane (W)

Tamil Nadu

1. Dept. of Clinical Virology, CMC, Vellore 
2. Department of Laboratory Services, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, Chennai
3. Neuberg Ehrlich Lab Pvt Ltd, 46-48 Masilamani Road, Balaji Nagar, Chennai

Telangana

1. Laboratory Services, Apollo Hospitals, 6th Floor, Health Street Building, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad
2. Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Pvt Ltd, Street No 19, Himayath Nagar, Hyderabad
3. Vimta Labs Ltd, Plot No 142, Phase 2, IDA Cherlapally, Hyderabad