Residents of Unanderra, Cordeaux Heights and Kembla Grange are more likely than any others in the Illawarra to have contracted COVID-19, with more than one case for every four residents in this area.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And, according to a post code analysis combining Australian Bureau of Statistics population figures with COVID-19 case numbers, there is a cluster of postcodes in the centre of the region which have the highest rates of infection per 100 people.
The data shows that in the 2526 postcode, which includes the above suburbs, more than 26 people in every 100 have had the virus.
Unanderra resident Jason Crilly is among those who have had the virus recently.
"Up until recently, I didn't know anyone who had it," he said.
"I thought I'd avoided it, but then I got sent home from work after being in contact with someone who had it there. I had a positive test with no symptoms.
"Then later on, I got a headache and fever. For me, the virus wasn't so bad - it was the psychological impact of not knowing how bad it was going to be."
In neighbouring Berkeley (postcode 2506) exactly one in four people have been infected, and rates are similar in the next suburb over, Warrawong (postcode 2502), where 24.42 people per 100 have had COVID-19.
Figtree (2525) is ranked fourth in the region, with 23.96 people per 100 infected, and Shellharbour's 2529 post code is ranked fifth with a very similar rate of 23.95 cases per 100 people.
These rates were used with permission from covid19nsw.ethan.link, which is based on data from NSW Health and the ABS's 2020 population estimates.
The site's developer, known simply as Ethan, said there were a couple of caveats with the data, including that the 202 population estimates may not capture the full accurate picture of population. For this reason, they said faster growing suburbs, where the population has changed since 2020 may seem to have a higher proportion of COVID-19 cases.
Additionally, the case numbers are not strictly a percent of people who have had the virus, "because someone could catch covid multiple times, in which case they'd show up as multiple cases".
In terms of local government areas, Shellharbour residents are most likely to have had COVID-19, with one case for every four people.
In Wollongong, there are 22.6 cases for every 100 residents, while in Kiama, there's been less than one case for every five people - and in the Shoalhaven, only one in every six people has had the virus.
There have now been 92,295 cases recorded in the region since the start of the pandemic.
In the most recent daily figures, the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District has recorded another 1142 cases of the virus.
Three Wollongong residents were among another 12 people who died with COVID-19 in NSW.
They were a woman in her 60s, a man in his 80s and a woman in his 90s, all of whom were vaccinated against COVID.
To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Sign up for breaking news emails below ...
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
