Coronavirus In India: The Poor Get Free Test & Treatment Of COVID-19

On Sunday, the Indian government made a decision of free tests and treatments for patients of COVID-19 with a condition that they are undergoing Ayushman Bharat medical program for the poor in the worse situation of coronavirus in India.

As per a decision on the same day from the government, more than 500 million people under Ayushman Bharat medical program will be tested and treated in all hospitals including private hospitals with timely and standard medical conditions.

In a serious situation of the ongoing spread of coronavirus in India, Dr. Bhushan from the program said:

"The empaneled hospitals can use their own authorized testing facilities or tie up with an authorized testing facility for the scheme. These tests would be carried out as per the protocol set by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and by private labs approved/registered by the ICMR. Similarly, treatment of COVID-19 by private hospitals will be covered under AB-PM JAY."

According to him, the decision aims at increasing the supply of facilities for tests and treatments and expanding access through the AB-PM JAY scheme set in private hospitals. Harsh Vardhan, the Union Health Minister claimed:

"In this unprecedented crisis, we have to very actively involve the private sector as a key partner and stakeholder in the fight against COVID-19. Making testing and treatment available under Ayushmann Bharat PM-JAY will significantly expand our capacities by including private sector hospitals and labs and mitigate the adverse impact of this catastrophic illness on the poor."

He went on saying that every state is making a list of private hospitals that can be transmitted into hospitals for patients of coronavirus in India.

As per reports on April 6, India records 4,067 cases positive with the deadly virus, 292 patients recovered while 109 people died of COVID-19 across the country.