One hundred and forty six Parkes residents have been tested for COVID-19 since the pandemic broke out according to data now available online.
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The data shows that more coronavirus tests have been conducted in Orange than anywhere else in the Western Local Health District, with over 1200 people tested for COVID-19 since pandemic broke out.
Until now testing data has only been available by local health district, but from last Friday the NSW Government began releasing information by postcode.
In an Australian first, the heat maps pinpoint COVID-19 cases by postcode and also shows how many people have recovered from the virus, the estimated number of active cases and number of tests completed.
In comparison, Bathurst also conducted 1068 tests.
Bathurst and Orange both have COVID-19 testing clinics. Bathurst has two clinics one at Bathurst Base and another at the Bathurst Respiratory Clinic.
The Orange Clinic is at Orange Base Hospital.
In the Dubbo postcode, health authorities have conducted 682 tests.
By comparison, there have been 476 virus tests conducted in Lithgow, 203 in Mudgee, 100 in Cowra, 117 in Young, 95 in Blayney, 89 in Forbes and 34 in Grenfell.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said data in the heat maps would help inform the community about COVID-19 testing and recovery rates across the state.
"NSW has one of the highest COVID-19 testing rates in the world. We have tested more than 200,000 people and have capacity to test more than 110,000 in a fortnight," she said.
"This new way of showing NSW Health data will help communities understand the numbers of people being tested, and encourage more people with symptoms to come forward for testing when they see the impact COVID-19 is having on their local area.
"It also provides encouraging data showing how people are bouncing back from the virus."
Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the heat maps build on the transparency of existing data and will help the community stay informed.
Providing these heat maps to the public makes NSW a leader in the delivery of live information about COVID-19," he said.
"At this point in time, it shows the community is rising to the challenge and doing the right thing by our state."
