The price of a single PCR test, which is around 200 Turkish Liras, is equivalent to half the salary of a monthly minimum wage worker. Private health institutions and test centers accelerated the advertisements to attract new customers.
THE WORKER'S PCR COST 1,000 LIRA
The worker who gets the PCR test done once a week, which is approximately 200 TL in private test centers, will pay 800 TL per month. With additional expenses such as transportation to the test center, it is expected that the money that will come out of the pocket of the worker at the end of the month will reach a 1,000 TL.
TEACHERS' COST TO DOUBLE
These figures double for teachers and school personnel. Teachers and school staff, who are required to have PCR tests twice a week, will have to pay close to 1,600 liras for the test in a month.
Discussions on mandatory PCR testing for people who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 continue. While the mandatory PCR test implementation, which was brought to many fields and many sectors, actually started, the eyes were turned to the PCR test fees. In some business lines, the monthly cost of the test required twice a week is half the minimum wage. In the circular published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security for workers who are not vaccinated, it was stated that workers should have a mandatory PCR test once a week. Although the Ministry of Health says that tests can be done free of charge in state hospitals, situations such as crowding in hospitals and being late for work will force workers to go to private testing institutions.