A COVID exposure site in the Riverina will only be named if there is a "public benefit", Murrumbidgee Local Heath District's public health chief says.
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Tracey Oakman, who is based in Albury, has given a peep into the work of contact tracers and the rationale for flagging places frequented by those with COVID.
"We are very aware that when we name a venue, we create concern and distress, so we don't want to frighten people, create financial harm to a business, or have people going into quarantine if we don't need to," Ms Oakman said.
"We don't go to the media or make a public announcement if there is no public benefit, that's a judgement we need to make, but as soon as we are aware of an exposure site that puts the public at risk, we put that in a media release and send it to Sydney to be loaded onto the NSW Health COVID-19 case locations web page."
Contact tracers in Albury, Goulburn and other southern NSW sites are working from 8.30am to 10pm each day with those who are infected.
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Ms Oakman said revealing exposure sites may be delayed because of the state of a patient.
"Sometimes people with COVID-19 are very unwell, they might be asleep, or their phone might be flat," she said.
"Sometimes their phone number is incorrect, or their address is wrong, but if we don't get onto them within a reasonable time frame, we then ask the police to contact them, we don't leave it."
In addition to QR log-ins, tracers may need to look at an infected person's bank transactions and loyalty reward card records to determine times of activities.
"Some people feel ashamed or guilty and some people are hiding things, so it is up to our very skilled contact tracers to elicit the full history, which is sometimes difficult," Ms Oakman said.
"Some might need food, or mental health support, or help to look after a pet they've had to leave at home.
"Whether someone is isolating at home or in hotel accommodation, we're taking good care of them."
Ms Oakman dismissed "conspiracy theories" that information is being withheld from the public.
"It is our interest to make sure our community is safe, so our mothers, fathers, daughters and sons don't get infected," she said.
"We are part of the community too, and none of us would benefit from withholding information if there was a risk."
