Health Services Director General Dr Asela Gunawardena has requested the private sector to ensure the credibility of COVID testing methodology without resorting to malpractices, the NOCPCO said. The National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) said this was discussed when Army Commander Shavendra Silva and Dr Gunawardena jointly met a gathering of private sector top management laboratory technicians yesterday. Dr. Gunawardena requested the technicians to strictly adhere to guidelines and regulations to ensure the credibility of COVID testing. At the meeting, it has been brought to the notice that testing methodology has been twisted and attempts are made by certain private sector hospitals to carry out PCR and antigen tests at regional testing places and mini laboratories which have not received any authorization from the Ministry. The Army Commander said, “Only 30 technically-equipped such laboratories are authorized by the Health Department to carry out such tests in accordance with approved provisions and guidelines because concerns have been expressed as regards the reliability and accuracy of such tests by certain affected parties since they sometimes provide contradictory results.” Meanwhile, General Silva has requested the private sector to reduce the fees charged for PCR tests. He said the private sector PCR charges of Rs 6,750 for BOI company employees remain unchanged. “It is better if those existing price ranges for such tests can be further reduced for the benefit of the masses,” he said.