The price of a Covid-19 test has been dropped from R850 to no more than R500 after the Competition Commission found that companies involved in the tests were exploiting consumers with their pricing.

On Sunday, the Competition Commission announced that it has reached a ground-breaking agreement with two major laboratories Du Buisson Kramer Swart Bouwer Incorporate (Ampath) and Lancet Laboratories for the substantial reduction of the PCR tests for Covid-19 following investigations into their pricing.

Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele said the investigations were initiated by a complaint received from the Council for Medical Schemes against private pathology laboratories alleging that the  price for supplying PCR tests for Covid-19 was unfairly inflated, exorbitant and unjustifiable.

Bonakele said investigations showed that since the pandemic began, the costs of test have been declining due to the technology improving.

However, the companies were not passing this benefit to the consumer.

“We did find that the profit margins were quite high as we expected them... We will not be divulging that information at the moment but we did see an abnormal profit margin by these companies.

“We decided to forgo a fine [of the companies involved] and chose a price reduction which we think is better for consumers,” he said.

Bonakele said imposing a fine to the companies involved would have taken about a year while consumer are suffering.

The new price of a Covid-19 test is effective today and no one in the country, including visitors from abroad is expected to pay more.

The commission committed to continue monitoring the price of the test going into the future as the pandemic continues.

Any member of the public who is made to pay more than R500 for the test can inform the commission by email to ccsa@compcom.co.za or SMS 0847430000.