Movement patterns show lockdown fatigue may be setting
As many people stay inside, new movement patterns show how people have changed their habits during the coronavirus. But in a worrying discovery, there are signs Victorians are becoming fatigued with lockdown.
HS Coronavirus News
Don't miss out on the headlines from HS Coronavirus News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Locked down Melburnians are moving more frequently around the city each week while restrictions remain in place, with virus hot spots and disadvantaged areas such as Wyndham, Brimbank and Hume among the areas where more people are hitting the road.
It comes as Victoria recorded 21 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday and seven deaths.
New research from University of Melbourne academic Rohan Byrne has modelled each region’s “lockdown compliance” and found the areas most impacted by the virus were among the spots were also leading the way in returning to streets and sidewalks.
The study, put together using Facebook movement data collected over the past six months, found Sundays and the end of every working week were the busiest days recorded as more people become fatigued with lockdown limits.
Mr Byrne said trips around Melbourne were increasing slightly every week since Stage 4 restrictions were introduced.
“It shows our movements have changed in response to the pandemic policies,” he said.
“When you introduce a new policy measure it is very effective at the beginning but it does decay over time.
“You can see people drift as time goes on.
“We always tighten our behaviour when asked but if it isn’t big or a new announcement it doesn’t have quite the same effect.”
Mr Byrne said disadvantaged areas in Melbourne’s northwest were among the local government areas to record the most movement.
“That suggest people in these areas have had to keep going to work,” he said.
“These areas also tend to include high concentrations of families and we know at the end of the day its very difficult to keep children cooped up all day.
“I’ve been really proud of the way we’ve responded to this pandemic. We just need to keep it together a bit longer.”
The data is supported by new state government modelling which shows weekday road traffic has risen for the fourth consecutive week.
The biggest surge in car trips was in the municipality of Maribyrnong, where movement rose by 9 per cent, followed by Cardinia and Bayside.
Colac-Otway, one of regions with the higher number of COVID-19 cases outside Melbourne, also recorded a sharp increase in movement before authorities jumped on a new cluster in the area.
Of the 21 new cases, 13 are linked to known outbreaks and eight are under investigation.
Metropolitan Melbourne’s 14-day case average is now 39.3.
The number of cases with an unknown source now stands at 64 in metropolitan Melbourne, and zero in regional Victoria.
There are 89 Victorians in hospital, of which eight are in intensive care and five on a ventilator.
Active cases across the state have dropped to 834, including 123 healthcare workers, 433 linked to aged care homes and 28 cases in regional Victoria.
SUTTON SORRY FOR INFLAMMATORY AFGHANI COMMENTS