A Batemans Bay GP says frail and elderly clients should consider self-isolating in the coming weeks as they are most at risk of catching the coronavirus.
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Surf Beach Surgery Doctor James Langley said the elderly and people taking immunosuppressive drugs or anti-cancer drugs were vulnerable.
For the general population, hand washing and social distancing were crucial.
He said people with a fever and a cough should not present unannounced to general practices or hospitals.
"That's where the frail, elderly and immunosuppressed congregate," he said.
Symptomatic people must ring ahead and have a telephone consultation with a doctor or nurse to plan their next step.
Unwell people should not visit aged care facilities.
Dr Langley said the coronavirus was "the last thing (the Eurobodalla Shire) needed" after a traumatising summer.
He said the shire was not equipped with intensive care beds.
"We don't have any intensive care beds in the Eurobodalla Shire, so we rely on flowing our patients out," he said.
"I believe there are contingency plans to open up more intensive care beds."
It is not just the elderly he was concerned for.
"We're worried about people with chronic illness; we're worried about First Nation people who have a higher risk," he said.
He said the Eurobodalla Shire had a higher percentage of people aged over 65 and a higher percentage of Indigenous people compared to other areas in NSW.
On the other hand, he worried if the elderly stopped mingling and going to meetings, it might be bad for their mental health.
"The most important thing, especially when you're elderly, is that you socialise," he said.
"People are going to have to start talking on the telephone or on Skype. I am recommending that to my patients until we know when the peak is going to be."
He said the community was already anxious, but there was no use panicking.
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"It's difficult not to panic people when you look at what's happened with toilet paper and hand sanitiser," he said.
"It's a fine line between being realistic and not panicking people.
"This is uncharted waters.
"This is going to go on for weeks and weeks, probably months. You're just going to wear yourself out if you panic."
While one Eurobodalla Shire GP said it might be two weeks before the virus arrived in the area, Dr Langley said it was hard to know for sure.
A Southern NSW Local Health District spokesperson said on March 16 there were no confirmed cases of the virus in the Eurobodalla Shire.
"We're getting patients to ring before they come and when they make appointments we ask if they have a fever, a cough, have they been overseas anywhere in the past two weeks," Dr Langley said.
"If that's the case, they get a phone consultation before they can come in.
"Any health care worker with any flu-like illness has to be swabbed regardless of their history because we are very concerned about it getting to the aged care facilities."
He didn't believe schools should be closed yet.
"But I think that will change day-to-day," he said.
"As a generalisation, children aren't at risk. It's not a serious illness for children, but of course they could get it and spread it."
It was difficult to know when to "pull the trigger" because weeks of school closure weren't sustainable.
"They've got to do it when the wave of cases is rising," he said.
"It's a trigger that can only be pulled once. They want to pull that trigger at the optimum time."
He said there was a concern the reagent used for the COVID-19 test was in short supply.
"Which means we have to think twice about testing somebody who's not at risk and who is not a healthcare worker," he said.
"Those people probably shouldn't be tested because at the moment, my understanding is we don't have enough kits to test everybody.
"We've got to ration them to people who have been travelling, who are health care workers or people who have had contact with people who have the virus.
"At the moment we shouldn't be testing people who are just anxious and not at risk."
He was concerned health care staff had not been issued gowns and had to buy them privately.
"I don't want to criticise the government, but I am concerned there may not be adequate supplies of personal protective equipment for health care workers," he said.
It was a scary time for some.
"I'm mainly concerned about my patients, I'm not concerned about myself because I'm healthy, fit and I'm in my 50s," he said.
"But if I was in my 70s, I'd be thinking about not seeing patients, or if I had any serious illness.
"We've so far tested about six people, most of them health care workers, who were not at risk.
"We've tested two people who have returned from overseas, who also tested negative, who had flu symptoms."
Dr Langley was tested himself.
"I had been to Melbourne, had a sore throat and I'm a health worker," he said.
"It was negative, but I was out of the workforce for three days."
He wanted the government to consider contingency plans for food distribution to people isolated at home.
"Not everyone will be able to get food and the supermarkets are going to have to wind up their delivery service," he said.
He said slowing the spread of the virus was critical.
"If a lot of people get very sick all at once, the healthcare system may be overwhelmed," he said.
"But if we can slow the spread so the peak isn't so high, the system won't be overwhelmed."
He said stopping a rapid increase in cases had worked in China and South Korea.
"I think there was a delay in (Northern) Italy, so their system has been overwhelmed," he said.
He believed Australia might go into lock-down.
"Yes, I think there is a chance that could happen in another couple of weeks," he said.
"The good news is in China, there are hardly any transmissions now. There is light at the end of the tunnel."
Visit NSW Health www.health.nsw.gov.au and Health Direct www.healthdirect.gov.au for updated information on COVID-19. You can also call 1800 022 222 for 24/7 health advice.
