London, Ottawa students create website to track rapid COVID-19 test results in Ontario

As Omicron runs rampant across the province with testing facilities that can't keep up, two Ontario students have taken matters into their own hands.

Elliot Hegel, a Western University nursing student, and a friend who is studying computer science at Carleton University, have come up with a website for Ontarians to report their COVID-19 rapid antigen test results — in either English or French.

Rapid Report Ontario came together in a matter of days after Ontario's top doctor Kieran Moore announced on Dec. 30 that the province will be limiting who can get PCR tested.

"I did feel that was unfortunate, that [it] was a step that they had to take ... in order to protect Ontarians," Hegel told CBC News. 

"We need to have an understanding of where COVID-19 is in Ontario and who has COVID-19 in Ontario, just in broad demographic terms," he added.

The site was launched on Jan. 1 and has seen hundreds of users.

The province is currently tracking results for PCR tests. There is no government-backed database for rapid test results in Ontario.

The reporting system is straightforward: Users select their language and indicate the result of their rapid test. Those are the only mandatory pieces.

There is an option to enter other information such as a postal code, symptoms and vaccination status — but it's not a must. 

Hegel said they streamlined the interface to make it accessible and easy to use. People can also access data from the results submitted on the website.

"I think that people have an interest and a right to know the COVID-19 situation in this province, especially as we come closer and closer to elementary schools reopening and high schools as well," said Hegel. 

"We would like this data to be available to any epidemiologists, statisticians [and] population health researchers who could use this for their own studies," he added.

It's still a "work in progress," but Hegel hopes to roll it out to places that don't already have a self-reporting tool.

"Ultimately, I think that it's actually kind of unfortunate that we had to create this website because I really think this is the responsibility of the government to help protect Ontarians and they need to have this understanding," said Hegel.