Kitana, I think the disclaimer at the top of the link said that all covid 19 manuscripts are automatically given rapid review and that as a result no other manuscripts are eligible for rapid review right now.
So I think it just gets rapid review automatically.
Dr P didn’t need to formally request rapid review...
RAPID REVIEW UPDATE: Owing to the surge in requests for rapid review of Covid-19 submissions, we have introduced a new policy. All Covid-19 submissions will automatically be handled on our Rapid Review track; there is no need to request it. To ensure that all Covid-19 papers can be handle expeditiously, we are not accepting other requests for Rapid Review at this time.