COVID-19 Tool for Estimating Risk of Exposure Created in Pittsburgh, PA

PITTSBURGH, PA (PittsburghNewsWire.com) — A free online tool to help estimate risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus was developed this week in Western Pennsylvania. Dr. Matthew Carter, a Pittsburgh-based researcher, developed the free online tool to help business leaders, administrators, and community members as they make decisions that affect the health and safety of their employees, students, and personnel.

Dr. Carter built this tool with data from county health departments, the CDC and the WHO.  It was created with assistance from his colleagues at the University of Florida and Johns Hopkins University.  “I could see that there was a gap in the available tools for decision-makers, and I decided to put something together,” said Dr. Carter on July 29.

Called COVID Planner, the risk estimation engine is free and stores no data.  It is available online at http://covidplanner.org/.

“The COVID Planner will help decision-makers better understand and respond to their infection risk environment,” said Dr. Carter.  “I hope people find it useful.”

The COVID Planner currently works in every county of the United States, and a Canadian version is in development at the request of Canadian federal government executives.