Priorities in the fight against COVID-19 crisis have come in waves.
In March and early April governments around the world scrambled to secure personal protective equipment and ventilators.
Now the focus has shifted to testing and a Vancouver company has been recognized for their work on it.
Designed by local digital agency Hot Tomali Communications, HealthAlerts.io is a website that maps coronavirus testing sites across the US, Canada and Mexico.
HealthAlerts.io was one of 89 winning projects at the #BuildforCOVID19 Hackathon which took place earlier this month. The massive global event promoted the development of software to take on challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic and featured 18,929 participants from over 175 countries with teams submitting over 1,560 projects.
https://t.co/lLx0iJdTPJ was selected for the #BuildforCOVID19 hackathon sponsored by @Facebook, @Twitter, @Microsoft, @Slack, @Saleforce, etc. We were one of 89 selected projects out of almost 1600 entries. If you’re looking for #COVID19 testing sites or info, check it out.
— Thomas Stringham (@thomasstringham) April 10, 2020
Complete with searchable maps and filters, HealthAlerts.io has curated and approved over 6,200 verified COVID-19 testing locations with new data being added daily.
While the initial list of test locations have come from public health organizations and government sources, users can also submit new testing locations, reviews and pictures as a means to crowdsource the rapidly changing COVID-19 testing landscape.
The COVID-19 Global Hackathon #BuildforCOVID19 was initially a collaboration between the tech world, scientists at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, and the World Health Organization. Participating technology companies included Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft, Pinterest, Salesforce, Slack, and more.
“We’re extremely happy to have been selected in the #BuildforCOVID19 hackathon, and to have a live project that’s already serving the public” says Thomas Stringham, Founder & CEO of Hot Tomali.
“We leveraged technology from previous projects which allowed us to develop a solution rapidly. Mass COVID-19 testing is the only way for people to get back to normalcy and for the economy to re-open safely. Our goal is to make COVID-19 testing as accessible as possible.”
Read more about Hot Tomali’s #BuildforCOVID Hackathon submission here.