Victoria's lockdowns punishing the young and poor, study finds

Victoria's four coronavirus lockdowns is inflicting a negative and ongoing toll on the mental health of many Victorians, especially the young and poor, a new study has found.

Almost half of Victorians believe coronavirus lockdowns have negatively impacted their mental wellbeing and outlook on the future, according to preliminary results in a new Flinders University survey.

The study showed a 42 per cent drop in Victorians who feel highly hopeful or positive about life before and after the period of self-isolation and lockdown for COVID-19.

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Younger people and those with less financial security suffered more than most, early results in the study found.

Results showed 40 per cent of Victorians could not maintain overall positive wellbeing and self-care during the pandemic.

The survey of 56 questions related to wellbeing was distributed to Victorians through social media during March and April 2021.

"The impact on Victorians general outlook and mental health is worrying given our study commenced prior to the current lockdown," Associate Professor Udoy Saikia said.

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Professor Saikia said deeper analysis of the data would investigate how support networks of family and friends, the ownership of pets and economic circumstances may have helped people cope.

There were 701 responses to the survey, which authors said had a five per cent margin of error.

Victoria reported 11 new cases today, with all infections linked to known outbreaks.

The lockdown is scheduled to end on Thursday night, but there is no indication if the government will lift restrictions.

There are now 94 active cases of coronavirus in the community and 350 exposure sites in Victoria.