RNAO member and Western University nursing student Elliott Hegel, in partnership with a friend who studies computer science at Carleton University, has developed a website that allows Ontarians to record their COVID-19 rapid test results. Rapid Report Ontario was developed after the province’s chief medical officer of health announced limits on PCR testing on Dec. 30, 2021.

“We need to have an understanding of where COVID-19 is in Ontario and who has (it),” Hegel told CBC News. The website allows users to input their test result and provides them with the option to include additional data such as postal code, symptoms and vaccination status. The goal of the website is to provide this data to epidemiologists, statisticians and other health researchers.