New coronavirus hotspot map reveals the worst hit postcodes in Victoria – and it's not good if you live in a poor suburb
- A new coronavirus hotspot maps show poorer suburbs hardest hit by COVID-19
- Department of Health and Human Services launched the dashboard this week
- The real-time tracker was designed to give Victorians best possible information
A new COVID-19 hotspot map of Victoria reveals how Melbourne's most disadvantaged postcodes have borne the brunt of the virus.
The new interactive dashboard by the Department of Health and Human Services was unveiled this week to keep locked-down Victorians better informed about their local community during the pandemic.
Users can now track their specific postcode to find out how many infections within the past 24 hours, how many cases are still active and which local government areas have been worse hit.
The map shows suburbs in Melbourne's north and west have been the most impacted by coronavirus
Pictured: A medical professional performs COVID testing at a drive through clinic in Ballarat on August 21
'We want to continue to share more data, and a new dashboard on the DHHS website makes more information available to Victorians for the first time,' Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said.
'This will include not only active case numbers and number of deaths, it will have details around outbreaks, it'll have details around aged care setting outbreaks, hospitalisations, but also it will list high-risk locations for the first time.
'It's important we arm the community with this information.'
The second-wave of cases which led to Melbourne's Stage 4 shutdown has disproportionately impacted suburbs in the west and north of the city.
Postcode 3021, which encompasses St Albans, has suffered 577 cases.
The nearby 3020 postcode which takes in Sunshine recorded 425 infections.
While the Broadmeadows area postcode of 3047 has been hit with 197 cases.
Police and Australian Defense Force personnel check permits and ID of drivers at a checkpoint in Little River for traffic coming from Melbourne into Geelong on August 14
The map shows areas in Victoria which have the highest active number of cases per 100,000 people
In Melbourne's more affluent south eastern suburbs, the numbers were much lower.
East Melbourne's 3002 postcode has recorded just 15 cases.
Toorak's 3142 postcode has suffered 28 infections, while Surrey Hills in the 3127 postcode has been struck with only 14 cases.
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The discrepancy in the way Melbourne's rich and poor have been surviving the coronavirus crisis was brought to a head earlier this week after a multimillionaire was granted an exemption to leave the state.
Construction tycoon Mark Simonds and his family were allowed to escape Melbourne's cold weather on a 30-metre superyacht headed to Queensland - while the rest of the city is still only allowed to leave their home for one hour per day to exercise
The vessel docked at six stops along the coast before it arrived at its final destination at Gold Coast Marina on Monday morning.
An exemption to enter Queensland waters had been granted by the state's health department on Sunday night.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young told reporters on Tuesday that anyone who had been on a vessel at sea for 14 days without entering a declared hotspot was exempt from hotel quarantine.
However, she has since backflipped on the decision.
'Following further information submitted to Queensland Health, the Chief Health Officer has revoked her exemption for seven people aboard the Lady Pamela vessel,' a statement on Tuesday night read.
'All seven people are now required to quarantine in a government approved hotel for 14 days at their own expense. Attempting to bypass or manipulate Queensland's border direction is unacceptable.
Victoria recorded 148 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday including eight deaths.
Nine Public housing towers in Melbourne were ordered into lockdown in July after an outbreak
A sign in the window of a housing commission flat in Flemington says 'I am locked up'
Flemington tower resident Najat Mussa (pictured) posted several videos from inside the public housing building to social media in the wake of the 'hard lockdown' being introduced. In one she compared the situation being experienced by residents to a scene of The Hunger Games
