Lithgow resident, John* who wished to remain anonymous, is currently self isolating after being in contact with a family member who was a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

The ship which arrived in Sydney on Thursday, March 19 had dozens of undiagnosed coronavirus cases on-board.

Around 2500 passengers were allowed to leave the ship at Circular Quay with many catching trains, buses and flights to get home.

More than 130 people from the cruise have now tested positive to the virus.

The passenger who is also self isolating in a different home, originally came into contact with John, who was looking after his dog while he was on holidays.

"My family member has been in home isolation and felt mildly ill. Fortunately he is fit and healthy and hopes to return to normal in the next two weeks," John said.

Since a brief interaction and a handshake with the cruise passenger, John has been in quarantine for the last seven days.

"I had a brief encounter with him when he came to pick up his dog.

"So now I'm staying home in isolation just to be safe and to protect my community," he said.

READ MORE:

He said he was checking his temperature regularly and looking out for symptoms.

"I feel fine and I've been told if you feel symptoms after three days then you've got it but I'm doing okay so far," he said.

John said at first he was worried but he has been practicing good hygiene and taking precautionary measures.

"I've been staying home with plenty of farm work to do, books to read and trying to keep busy.

"I'm staying put because if I did have it, I wouldn't want to spread it in the community," he said.

John urged people to keep practicing self isolation and social distancing.

"Even if you think you might be sick, stay home, it's not a joke.

"If everyone follows, we can get through this and it will be over soon enough," he said.

There are currently four coronavirus testing clinics operating at hospitals in the Local Health District. With Lithgow's being the Lithgow Hospital (via main entrance) which is open 10am to 3pm, 7 days.

The Australian government has launched a new messaging service on WhatsApp and an app to keep people updated about coronavirus.

The government also announced that it has reduced meetings outside the home to no more than two people, as measures to limit social interactions get still tougher.

We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we want to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.