A federal MP says there's a "problem" with the lack of information Victoria's health department releases about regional coronavirus data, after a new case that was removed days later sparked confusion in north-west Victoria.
Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) publishes a daily update that lists recovered and active COVID-19 cases by local government area but it does not provide details about individual cases.
On Saturday, the department's update said there were six recovered cases in the Mildura council area, while on Sunday it showed five recovered cases and one active. On Monday, the sixth case was removed completely.
Nationals MP Anne Webster said she sought additional information from the department on the case and had no luck, only finding out there was no active case in Mildura by asking Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt through a parliamentary committee.
"This is part of the problem that we have with a centralised system of control, which is DHHS in Melbourne, that determines what information will be passed out and what will not," Dr Webster said.
"But clearly it's of concern to all of us that we want to know if that person was walking around Mildura last week."
The new active case appearing in data on Sunday caused concern in the Mildura community, where the most recent coronavirus case was recorded more than five weeks ago on April 8.
But no additional information on the case was made available — such as where it came from or why it was removed — and DHHS did not respond to the ABC's request for more information on Sunday's data.
Clearer communication
Dr Webster said even in her position as a federal politician she had struggled to get details on coronavirus cases from DHHS.
"I think it's important for DHHS to assure smaller communities that there is or is not an active case in the community itself," Dr Webster said.
At a press conference on Monday Victoria's deputy chief health officer answered questions about new cases in Melbourne, but said she did not have any information on a case in Mildura.
The Nationals MP said she hoped that, as more cases came up in the future, "DHHS will communicate with us in a clearer and more timely manner".
In a statement, DHHS said data could change for "many reasons" such as multiple notifications for the same person or having the wrong postcode recorded.
"Victorians can be assured that, as part of our contact tracing, any public exposure sites are contacted and provided with advice about the transmission risks and any cleaning that may be required," the DHHS statement said.
