The virus is making its way across Western NSW and health workers say they've never experienced anything like this.

Australian Paramedics Association Central West executive officer Scott Beaton said the level of angst among paramedics is high.

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"There's a lack of PPE [personal protective equipment] with gowns the biggest thing and hand sanitiser also in short supply," he said.

Mr Beaton said paramedics are having to juggle when to use their PPE of gloves, a mask, apron and goggles in order to save supplies.

"There's quite a lot of angst and you don't want to put yourself or your family at risk," he said.

"I don't necessarily blame anyone or point the finger at anyone, it's just that we've never been in this position before."

Mr Beaton said paramedics will err on the side of caution when deciding whether to wear PPE even though the patient may not appear to have COVID-19.

"People can be showing no signs or symptoms of it but still have it," he said.

Paramedics have their temperature taken each day as they arrive at work as one COVID-19 symptom is a fever. Anyone recording above 37.5 degrees is sent home immediately.

The closure of some businesses is also having an impact on paramedic staffing levels.

"A few childcare centres are closing down and that's causing some issues with staff having to take time off to look after their kids," Mr Beaton said.

At Orange Hospital, treatment areas have been split into hot and cold zones.

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The hot zone has taken over the entire ED to treat COVID-19 and other respiratory conditions.

The cold zone, for all other conditions, will be adapted from other hospital departments.

In Dubbo, Mr Beaton said any suspected COVID-19 case is put into an air lock room to contain the threat before they are moved onto other areas.

Orange Health Service security guard Allan Bennett, who is also a Health Services Union delegate, said some patients are agitated and demanding, staff are feeling threatened and members of the public are stealing much-needed medical equipment.

On some of his shifts, hospital staff will activate the duress alarm 10 to 12 separate times to alert security that they are in trouble and need urgent help.

However, the need for greater levels of PPE means security staff are weighing up whether to take time to put on gloves, an apron, mask and goggles or rush to answer the alarm.

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"When we get an alarm we've got a two minute response time to get to wherever it is," he said.

"A lot of the times we're reacting in the case of violence or aggression ... we have a split second to decide to protect staff or the public and then do we run the risk of the virus.

"We've got to ask ourselves 'do we stop and get dressed to protect ourselves or do we protect staff'."

To add to the difficulties of managing a sometimes volatile situation, Mr Bennett said members of the public have been stealing gloves, face masks and hand sanitiser from the hospital.

"I'd like to tell these people that everything they take from there is everything we need to keep ourselves safe," he said.

A Western NSW Local Health District spokeswoman said there had been cases of the public stealing hand sanitiser from Dubbo Hospital, however, no thefts have been reported from Orange.

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With so many uncertainties as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, Mr Bennett said the public is already frightened and he is concerned for the community's safety.

"I feel that there's going to be an increase in violence due to frustration," he said.

HOSPITAL nursing staff may be busy caring for patients during the rising tide of COVID-19, but so far they're coping, union spokeswoman Zoe-Anne Guinea says.

"They say that they're really busy, but it's well controlled," said Ms Guinea, the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association Western organiser.

She said nursing staff have been redeployed to different units within hospitals to manage the spike in virus cases and the drop in routine medical patients.

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PPE is being strictly managed and Ms Guinea said there are currently no heightened levels of concern for personal safety among staff.

"I think most nurses are well educated in protecting themselves, but I'm sure there's some who are over 60 [years old] or immune compromised who may be worried," she said.

"All sorts of precautions have been put in place to protect workers."

Ms Guinea said the union had only received a very small number of calls from members who had expressed concerns about access to PPE.

THE move to online learning for thousands of students across the region has highlighted the huge disparities between those who have and those who haven't, one teacher says.

Education and whether schools will remain open during the spread of coronavirus has been confusing for many parents and teachers as government messages change over time.

While schools remain open for parents who need to continue working, many parents are helping their children move to online learning at home.

Brewarrina Teachers Association president Judi Wood said some students are from large families, while others live in a household with limited internet, and these factors affect the ability to learn at home.

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"We made the decision to create booklets that can be picked up and given to students," she said.

"We're sending home the booklets with pencils and erasers ... we know we have to provide all of these things so we're starting on a level playing field.

"There's also social equity problems and people with many children and kids who are looked after by grandparents."

Ms Wood said some students were coping with the changes well, while others were already struggling.

"There's nothing like the face-to-face contact ... every day I worry about it," she said.

Bathurst teacher Craig Petersen, who is also NSW Secondary Principals Council acting president, said parents had been understanding amid the changing COVID-19 recommendations from state and federal governments.

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"Ninety-nine per cent of students aren't going to school at the moment and 44 per cent of staff are working from home," he said.

While HSC exams will go ahead this year, on Thursday, education authorities clarified the future of practical subjects.

Mandatory group performances for drama and music extension students will be scrapped and VET students will no longer be required to undertake work placements.

Any other performance exams that breach social distancing requirements will also be modified.

Mr Petersen said the HSC was very "high stakes" for students and employers and he supported the continuation of exams despite the difficulties that COVID-19 presented.

As online learning continues, he said teachers would probably progress to pre-recording and uploading content online for students.

"Some kids are really engaging with it well and getting up and putting their uniform on and treating it as a school day. There's others who are struggling," Mr Petersen said.

WITH ministerial directions to enforce self-isolation and mass gathering rules, things have changed a lot for police officers like Senior Constable Adam Piffarelli.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, police are now actively monitoring business and public areas across NSW to ensure rules are being followed.

"We're going into businesses to make sure they're complying with regards to the number of people per square metre," Police Association Orange branch chair Snr Const Piffarelli said.

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"People in the community understand and get what we're trying to achieve with regards to flattening the curve; that's the good thing about a small community like Orange."

So far, he thinks the community is cautious rather than worried and he gave credit to those who were following recommendations to stay at home.

"As tough as it is, it really for the most part brings out the best in people," he said.

"We just seem to come together and work collectively. It's a positive as long as we stick together."

Snr Const Piffarelli said the day-to-day running of stations would be affected if even one police officer was to get COVID-19, so precautions were being observed.

Work stations and police vehicles are now being cleaned after every interaction with the public, rather than at the end of each shift.

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"I wouldn't say people were overly worried or concerned at this stage," he said.

"We've always had a biological risk to police for a whole manner of reasons.

"Even before this, PPE [personal protective equipment] was part of our everyday."