Quebecers can now report their rapid test results; critic says new system missed an opportunity
About a month after reaching its official COVID-19 testing capacity, on Tuesday the Quebec government launched its long-awaited platform meant to help capture all the unofficial tests now being done at home.
The website allows Quebecers to submit the results of their rapid tests, whether negative or positive, in order to give authorities a better overall picture of how the virus is circulating in the province.
But one Montrealer who came up with a citizen-run version much sooner says there are some basic ingredients lacking from the governmental version, including some verifications that the tests submitted are real.
"They do not validate the lot number or the test used," wrote Olivier Drouin on Twitter.
Drouin, who began the site COVID Ecoles Quebec in August 2020 to track school cases, created his own rapid test self-submission site earlier this month, and designed it differently.
He told CTV he hoped for even more from the government's site, since it could have built in the ability to check the validity of test results -- not only for the sake of the data's credibility, but for citizens' needs to have their illnesses verified for various reasons.
"People have had issues proving they had, or have, COVID to their employers, [and] to insurance companies for disability claims," he pointed out.
Drouin's site collects no personal information, unlike the official platform, but it does ask people to prove they used a legitimate rapid test, and gives them the option of declaring what school they're associated with, if any.
So far, Drouin's system has garnered 843 positive test result reports, which he is publishing on a live map.
Quebec's health minister said the official platform will be very useful to the government and encouraged people to use it.
“With such a tool now available to the public, it will be easier for our public health teams to assess the progression of the virus within the community," said Minister Christian Dubé in a statement Tuesday.
"We will therefore be able to have a more realistic overall picture, which will help public health to adjust health measures according to the real epidemiological situation."
The province didn't immediately say if, when or how the results will be made public.
This kind of platform has been needed for the past month, since PCR tests done at clinics and processed by labs became out of reach for most Quebecers, the province acknowledged.
Since jan. 5, these have been limited to a small subgroup of essential workers, including health-care workers and now teachers. For weeks, the province has included a disclaimer with its official case counts that these numbers are no longer accurate.
"In a context where tests in screening centers are now reserved for certain very specific priority groups and where the number of known cases is therefore underestimated, such a tool will help to better assess the positivity rate of the population," the province wrote Tuesday in a release.
Drouin's citizen-run crowdsourcing can't be used for these kinds of official purposes. However, in a side-by-side comparison on Twitter, he pointed out some things he felt were lacking from the province's effort.
For one thing, the province does take personal information -- which is standard for its health platforms, such as Clic-Santé. It said on Tuesday that the platform has been tested for cybersecurity.
It asks users to submit their name, birthdate and gender, as well as their health insurance numbers, if they have health cards.
They enter the results of their test and click a button attesting that they're telling the truth.
Drouin's page, meanwhile, doesn't ask for any personal identifying information, but does ask for the first three digits of the person's postal code. It also gives an option to submit a school name if one is associated with the person in question.
It also asks users to fill out several fields with details about the rapid test itself: its lot number, expiry date and fabrication code found on the box.
GOVERNMENT'S NEEDS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES TO CONSIDER: DROUIN
Drouin told CTV News he's disappointed with how much wasn't done on the official site, considering the government did have the option to do much more with this kind of tool.
It asks for no information about the test itself, he pointed out, other than whether it was positive or negative: no date the test was taken, no way to trace which test kit was used or whether it was real.
That adds up, he said, to "no official confirmation from government that you had COVID at a given date."
In reality, he said, the government should realize this is a pressing need for many regular people.
"All of the people testing with rapid tests are orphan cases that are not officially tracked or recognized," he said.
He predicted that if the province misses the opportunity to help in this area, there will be many more problems down the road, as a glut of people have trouble properly diagnosing their symptoms or getting compensation, he said.
"A few months from now, when people that were positive on rapid test [and] have no proof from government they were positive at a given date start developing long-COVID permanent symptoms, they will face issues," he said.
Late last month, after tests became out of reach, CTV News asked Quebec's worker's rights board (CNESST) what kind of proof was needed for workers to receive compensation if they were infected on the job and needed
"For compensation purposes... the CNESST accepts positive COVID-19 test results from the following two sources: from the [provincial] COVID-19 Screening Platform OR from a written confirmation from the Ministry of Health and of Social Services," said a spokesperson from the board.
In other words, if PCR test results were not provided as usual, workers would need to receive written proof from the health ministry. The CNESST directed further questions to the health ministry to learn more about those two options.
In an email, the health ministry said that for its own workers in the health and social system, a PCR test following a rapid test is necessary for proof.
"In the current context, it would be impossible for Public Health to confirm all the results of rapid tests," it wrote.
Have you had any problems at work after not being able to prove a positive infection with an at-home test? Tell us about your experience at MontrealDigitalNews@bellmedia.ca
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.