Bendigo residents have started a social media group to track exposure sites after becoming frustrated with the lack of updates on the Victorian health department's website.
Key points:
- The Department of Health only publishes tier 1 exposure sites and says its website is "not a complete list"
- Bendigo Health refers concerned locals to the Department of Health page
- A resident involved in creating the Facebook group says she just wants people to be able to make "informed decisions"
More than 20,000 people joined the Bendigo Exposure Sites Facebook group in its first week.
One of its admins, Shannon Spooner, said the goal was to help people make informed decisions about where to go.
"The exposure sites are getting listed quite late," Ms Spooner said.
"There's obviously a lot of work going on behind the scenes, but there's been a delay of when there was an exposure site and when the public was hearing about it.
"There were businesses posting themselves and you'd hear from them long before you'd get notified by the Department of Health, or long before you'd get any official notification.
'There was a need for it'
Accurate information for those who cannot get vaccinated was the driving force for the team behind the group.
Ms Spooner has two children too young to get the jab and wanted to be able to lower her risk of contracting COVID-19.
"I knew there was a need for it," she said.
Ms Spooner also wants immunocompromised residents and those who cannot get vaccinated to have exposure resources at their disposal.
"It's not about being paranoid, it's just about making informed decisions," she said.
The volunteer organisers approve posts shared by Bendigo residents to the group with information about exposure sites that businesses have posted themselves.
While there has been a little bit of backlash, Ms Spooner says most have welcomed the group.
"It's a platform for everyone else to share when they see exposure sites," she said.
"It's not about us spoonfeeding everyone the information, it's a platform there for them to share amongst themselves.
Health site best, official says
The department's website lists tier 1 exposure sites identified during the contact tracing process.
The department publishes locations where there is a higher risk of exposure, but says its website is "not a complete list."
The department no longer publishes tier 2 or 3 exposure sites.
Loddon Mallee Public Health Unit director Bruce Bolam encourages everyone to refer to public health advice on the Department of Health website.
"I think it's totally understandable that people want to get information out there — everyone's really alert to what coronavirus is and they want that information as quickly as possible.
"The best advice is to only follow the advice of the public health official from the Department of Health or the local public health unit, or what's on the Department of Health website."
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Bendigo COVID exposure site frustration leads to local Facebook group - ABC News
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