SALT LAKE CITY — An online platform helping facilitate in-person resources to increase data and testing availability for COVID-19 in Utah is quickly being noticed nationwide.
Since its launch on Thursday of last week, TestUtah.com has performed 51,633 assessments with roughly 1,500 being tested. The numbers released on Monday also indicate that roughly 800 test results were returned to patients.
“The early results of TestUtah.com are nothing short of remarkable,” Silicon Slopes executive director Clint Betts said Tuesday afternoon. “Utah is unique in our ability to lock arms and accomplish big things when needed.”
TestUtah.com is a collaborative program led by Silicon Slopes partnering with the state’s COVID-19 Task Force, Utah Department of Health, major healthcare providers such as Intermountain and University of Utah Health along with companies such as DOMO, Qualtrics, NomiHealth, Co-Diagnostics, ATLTechnology and others.
TestUtah.com uses three steps, beginning with the assessment. If recommendations from the assessment result in a test, there are numerous locations throughout the state that can accomplish that.
“There are two locations in Utah County that would not be open if not for the TestUtah.com initiative, and we plan to launch two more sites this week,” Betts said to FOX 13.
The two additional sites will be opening in Heber and South Ogden. According to Betts, the goal is to open at least 15 more sites and perform at least 3,000 tests per day, collectively.
Betts admits that it’s a strange feeling to have so much ‘tech’ directly in the middle of helping to curb the pandemic but thought, “Why not, if we can?”
“It’s really remarkable the way people have come together; it’s so remarkable that other states across the country are reaching out,” said Betts. “Major states — their governors are reaching out to Silicon Slopes asking, 'How can we replicate this here in our state?’”
Qualitrics co-founder and CEO Ryan Smith tweeted out some statistics from Clint Betts after TestUtah.com had been live for 24 hours.
Entertainment star Ashton Kutcher retweeted Smith's tweet about TestUtah, saying: “seems to me we should roll this out state by state.”
seems to me we should roll this out state by state https://t.co/aJakqRqsYl
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) April 4, 2020
According to Betts, the TestUtah program doesn’t take away any medical resources for other area hospitals, but instead they can help garner more resources during an already difficult time.
“We’re bringing in resources not just for TestUtah.com locations,” said Betts. “But we’re helping Intermountain and University of Utah Health to get those supplies as well.”