“My strong advice to any other medical centre getting involved in this work is that they should not leave their nursing staff out the front alone. You need a security guard.”

This is Dr Evan Jones, a GP in Morayfield in Queensland and one of the first doctors to start running one of the nation’s dedicated respiratory clinics.

A core part of the pandemic response and backed with $200 million of Federal Government money, they are designed to ease pressure on a health system bracing itself for crisis.

As widely reported, the demands from patients wanting either tests because they fear they are infected or from patients wanting to see their doctor for routine care without being screened have been intense.