Russian clinic releases at-home coronavirus tests for about $80 each

The Russian clinical network “Bud zdorov” (“Be Healthy”), a subsidiary of the major insurance company Ingosstrakh, has released a test for COVID-19 that users can administer at home. A representative for Ingosstrakh told Meduza that the company originally planned to test patients in person at its clinics but ultimately turned away from that idea.

The test will be a PCR test developed by DNA Technologies. This means it will rely on users to collect their own biological samples and obtain enough viral genetic material to yield a positive result if a patient does have the new coronavirus.

Only clinically healthy adults and children without acute respiratory symptoms will be eligible to take the test, Ingosstrakh representatives said. Any positive tests will be rerun with the assistance of Russia’s federal public health agency, and the entire process is scheduled to take two days for any given test. The cost of each test will be 6,000 rubles (about $80).

Ingosstrakh plans to expand its at-home testing to St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Ufa, Kazan, Kamensk-Uralsky, and Sochi. The company did not name specific dates for those expansions.