Member for Frome Geoff Brock MP is calling for SA Health to provide more information and transparency surrounding the location of people diagnosed with coronavirus in South Australia.

Mr Brock has been in constant contact with SA Health representatives asking for information about infection rates in his constituency to help allay fears and a rumour in regional communities.

“People are scared and uncertain and there are so many rumours which are often worse than the truth,” Mr Brock said.

“SA Health has been slow to issue a heat map of diagnosed cases for the State and although it released the first map on April 1, it is extremely difficult to decipher for the average citizen,”

The heat map shows blocks of colour for unnamed council areas throughout the State with grades of yellow through to orange, red and burgundy. Mr Brock said residents would need to be familiar with their council boundaries and how they looked on the map to be able to make out whether their region had any diagnosed cases, whilst the grades of yellow were also difficult to distinguish.

“As far as I can make out there have been between 1-4 cases in each of the Port Pirie, Wakefield and Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council – none in the Northern Areas Council at this stage.”

Mr Brock said the community deserved to know accurately how many cases there were in the regions and particularly in the larger towns where infection was more likely to occur.

“SA Health has this data and I am calling on them to release a live map with more accurate, up to date and detailed information.

“It is hard for the community to take care of itself while wading through rumours which only serve to upset and worry them.

“If people knew there were confirmed cases in particular locations, they would take more care – it would be a necessary wake-up call for those who haven’t taken this pandemic as seriously as they should.”

Mr Brock said he was not asking for information which could identify those who had been infected but did want people to be kept informed.

“From here on in we need to have SA Health supply accurate and timely information and to be open and transparent, because we are all in this together.”