<span style="color: #222222;">In a bid to augment the testing facilities, the Odisha government has allowed private hospitals, nursing homes and laboratories to conduct COVID-19 tests through Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR methods. The government issued a separate set of guidelines for conducting sample tests both under Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR.</span><br />''<br />''The private health establishments have to abide by the ICMR norms.<br />''<br />''The sample test results should first be informed to the state authorities before being released to the person whose test was conducted, the notification said.<br />''<br />''For Rapid Antigen tests, the private bodies can charge a maximum of 450 rupees, while the price for RT-PCR tests is fixed at 2,200 rupees per test. The nursing homes, hospitals and laboratories should be mandatorily registered under the Odisha Clinical Establishment (control & regulation) Act, 1990.<br />''<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">The manpower to be deployed for the purpose must be trained properly in consultation with the chief district medical and public health officers.</span><br />