Dr Aiveen Bannan is based at the Port Macquarie Base Hospital and has played an integral role in planning and preparing for patients who have needed treatment after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

She has also helped to advise the staff and teams who are working on the frontline during the pandemic, including the home hospital team who check up on patients and provide treatment when they are still self-isolating at their home.

Dr Bannan said majority of positive COVID-19 cases in the Port Macquarie-Hastings have been acquired after overseas travel, or after close contact with a person who has tested positive for the virus.

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For the small group who have tested positive for COVID-19 and for where the cause for infection is unknown, Dr Bannan said there is no evidence of any community spread of the virus.

This is positive as it's indicative people are following the Prime Minister's advice and NSW Health's guidelines of staying home as much as possible, implementing social distancing measures and practicing good hygiene.

"It seems like people are doing the right thing, in relation to that advice," Dr Bannan said.

"What we really want to do is reduce the opportunity for this virus to spread."

Dr Bannan said it's important for people to continue to follow the government's advice, in an effort to see a stabilisation of numbers who are currently testing positive for the virus.

Dr Bannan spoke of the harrowing scenes from overseas, where some the health systems of some countries are under extreme pressure, to treat the large numbers of people who have been diagnosed with the virus.

She believes Australia is in a fortunate position and has learnt how best to prepare for the arrival of the virus in the country, by looking at what China has done to address the pandemic.

The difficulty at the moment, Dr Bannan said, is there is no way of knowing how many patients are going to come into care locally.

Staff at the hospital, Dr Bannan advised are getting on with their job of helping people who have been diagnosed with the virus, while also taking precautions to protect themselves.

On Wednesday, April 1 NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian called on manufacturers around the state to help fill gaps in the global supply of medical equipment and hygiene products.

Dr Bannan said this was a step to ensure the state is prepared for a worse case scenario in terms of addressing the number of people who could potentially contract the virus.

The Port Macquarie Base Hospital has been subjected to a lot of preparation to cater for an increased number of people being diagnosed with COVID-19, while also decreasing its general activity, such as elective surgery, to minimise risk to the wider community.

At the moment, if a COVID-19 case has been hospitalised they have been isolated to a room.

Dr Bannan said if cases do increase the hospital would reassess how best to deal with the rise of patients, such as dedicating a ward to care.

For further health advice, visit the NSW Health website.

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