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National Institute on Ageing Launches Free Online Calculator to Assess People’s COVID-19 Risk When Gathering with Others

July 06, 2021
NIA Covid Risk Calculator title card

*The COVID-19 Visit Risk Calculator was updated and relaunched in September 2021 to better reflect the back-to-school and holiday season. Check out the tool at COVIDVisitRisk.com (external link) 

As Canada takes steps to safely reopen, a new online tool developed by Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing (NIA) at the Ted Rogers School of Management can help individuals and families to quickly assess their risk of getting COVID-19 when meeting or gathering with others.

Through a short series of questions, My COVID-19 Visit Risk Calculator provides users with information about their potential risk of exposure to COVID-19 when visiting or meeting with others. Available at COVIDVisitRisk.com (external link) , this free online tool can be used, in addition to guidance provided by public health officials, to help Canadians make safer choices when gathering with others for the duration of the pandemic.

This free and easy-to-use quick online calculator was developed under the direction of Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research, in collaboration with leading public health and infectious disease experts, and was funded in part by the Government of Canada.

“Throughout the pandemic, people across Canada have been trying their best to understand how to safely visit and gather with others when allowed to do so,” says Michael Nicin, Executive Director at the NIA. “As more of us are vaccinated, NIA researchers have been proud to receive support from the Public Health Agency of Canada to help develop and promote new tools to help people of all ages and states of health understand how to minimize their risks when getting together.”

In addition to the quick online calculator, which takes approximately three minutes to complete, a more comprehensive decision aid is also available, which provides a more detailed assessment of potential COVID-19 exposure risks.

COVIDVisitRisk.com (external link)  uses the best available scientific evidence to support people of all ages and states of health to make more informed decisions about visiting with others during the pandemic,” says Dr. Sinha, also an adjunct professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management. "After working through the questions, people are assigned a risk level in accordance with the gathering they are considering along with public health advice on how to meet more safely with others.”

Explore the tool at COVIDVisitRisk.com (external link)  and learn more about the NIA’s work at nia-ryerson.ca.