The regional city is quiet as the community waits for test results

Mr Dunbabin was waiting for the results of Thursday’s tests to see if his business would be affected or if he was considered a close associate.

“It’s a fast moving situation. There are really no hard and fast rules,” he said.

By Thursday afternoon, only three more positive cases had been confirmed.

Sam Birrell, chief executive of Greater Sheppardon, said the community had imposed its own kind of lockout as a precaution.

“A lot of businesses have been voluntarily shut down for a few days.

Mr Byrrell admitted to being frustrated that the virus had spread from Melbourne to Shepherdon and the long queues.

But he said people understood that a lot of testing had to be done in the short notice.

Colburn Valley Health had to install an emergency drive-through test of its two sites after the swamp on Wednesday, reaching capacity by the afternoon.

Long queues appeared again early Thursday morning as people returned for testing.

Philip Barca, owner of the Barca.Love restaurant in Shepperton, said the health department was contacting local businesses to see if staff had any signs of the corona virus, whether they had visited any hotspots, or if there were any positive cases.

He was pleased that he could not answer all the questions, but Mr Barca said business was down significantly. “Most of our bookings were canceled,” he said, which is desirable for a careless approach among hosts. “I want them to go and test and isolate.

Shepherdon said he had some irritation about the spread of the virus, but was determined to keep the numbers low rather than beating people in anger. “I think this is something that needs to be accepted.”