Finding RAT Website Helps Australians Locate Coronavirus Antigen Rapid Test Kits

Australians desperate to get their hands on a rapid antigen test as wait times for Covid testing clinics soar have a new weapon.

The Find a RAT website was launched on Monday to help Australians locate a test kit as stocks dwindle with so many catching Omicron.

Created by software developer Matt Hayward, the website uses crowdsourced data, to allow shoppers to update if a store has quick test kits in stock.

Dots marked in green on the map indicate that tests are “in stock”, “low stock” in orange, and “no stock” in red.

Mr Hayward said the idea for the website came to him when he saw how frustrated his girlfriend was trying to get a test kit.

“I started the website after my partner was looking for a test and had no luck,” he told Seven News.

“I thought I would put my technical skills to good use and develop the site today. “

Software developer Matt Hayward created the site after seeing his partner become frustrated trying to locate the stock (pictured, person undertakes a rapid Covid-19 antigen test)

Mr. Hayward built the site in hours, allowing users to search for test kits using their zip code.

He is working on startup issues and trying to improve the code to combat illegitimate reports made on the site.

The Bondi_lines Instagram page also provides updates on RAT kit locations and approximate wait times for Covid-19 PCR testing clinics in Sydney.

The page shares regular Instagram updates reporting three-hour wait times for some testing clinics in Sydney as cases hit 23,131 on Tuesday.

He also reports on quick test kit stock levels, including price updates, which he shares with the Find a Rat website.

An article shared Tuesday morning reported a pack of five rapid antigen tests repackaged and sold for roughly inflated $ 90 at a pharmacy in Bondi Junction.

Drugstore and supermarket shelves have been stripped of rapid antigen testing as queues for PCR tests remain waiting for up to three hours (pictured, motorist receives PCR test at Covid testing clinic -19 from Melbourne Drive-thru)

Drugstore and supermarket shelves have been stripped of rapid antigen tests in recent weeks, with some stores now charging up to $ 20 for a single test.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is under pressure not to make them free, as many people cannot even afford the standard price of $ 10 to $ 15.

“We are now at another stage in this pandemic where we just cannot go around and make everything free,” Mr Morrison told Sunrise on Monday.

“We have to live with this virus. It’s not a drug, it’s a test. And so there is a difference between these two things.

NSW and Victoria each got millions of free rapid tests, which will be distributed to the public by the end of January.

The prime minister said he was working with states and territories to lower the price for vulnerable groups with “concessional access to retirees and others.”

The cost of the testing grant will be shared 50/50 with the states and territories.