Settlers Village group operations manager Stephen McCrea said that NSW Health had been notified as soon as the outbreak had been identified in the facility's assisted living apartments.

He said the village's care manager had been in constant contact with NSW Health and they were following the best advice to protect residents and staff.

"We've isolated the COVID residents. We've stopped visitors coming in. The staff are wearing masks, we're taking meals to the rooms. We're doing everything we can," he said.

Mr McCrea told The Daily Advertiser yesterday afternoon that 10 residents and three staff had tested positive for the virus.

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But the assurances come after some staff and residents raised concerns over the handling of the outbreak and the alleged lack of information being provided.

One staff member, who did not wish to be named, said they understood the number of infected staff to be higher than the three disclosed.

They also alleged that staff were warned in a meeting not to tell anyone that there was an outbreak at the village.

"Everything is being hush-hush. No one is to know that there is COVID within Settlers Village within the apartments," they said.

However, Mr McCrea said this was not the case.

"They haven't been told that by me," he said.

A Settlers Village resident, who also wished to remain anonymous, has a family member living in the locked down apartments who tested positive on Monday.

They said more needed to be done to keep other residents and their loved ones fully informed about the situation and pointed to an email sent last week which referenced there being only "a few" cases in the apartments.

"Talk around the village is more than a few," they said.

"There's supposed to be 10 or 12 people down there with it, but we can't get any information outside the apartments."

Residents were also said to be unable to access COVID-19 tests over the weekend due to a lack of available nurses. However, Mr McCrea said the facility's care manager is on call 24/7 and had a resident requested a test they would have received it.

He said isolating residents would be tested twice a week, and in light of the outbreak he was considering weekly tests for all of his 45 staff members

"We've got the test kits to give them, if they come to us ... if they've got symptoms take a test, if they're concerned, take a test. That's what they're being told," he said.

"We're doing everything we can. And the residents that have got it aren't that sick. It's like a cold."

A MLHD spokesperson confirmed that the COVID-19 outbreak at Settlers Village had been reported to NSW Health through the MLHD Public Health Unit.

"MLHD will continue to provide ongoing support to Settlers Village until the outbreak is resolved," they said.

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