Lake Health Group senior physiotherapist Michael Pierce said this was the biggest issue facing those trying to give care across the health sector - they too were not immune to the ripple effects from the virus' spread.

And it would likely become more apparent with Ballarat chalking up almost 200 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday.

Mr Pierce said it could be tough for clinic leaders to keep adapting to changing government definitions and directives.

One key change to hit allied health was the health department's changed definition last week of a close contact to now be at least four hours with a person who has COVID-19. Most health professionals, including general practitioners, are in close contact with patients for far shorter appointments.

Mr Pierce said his team was opting for extra precautions in the juggle to best avoid losing staff to isolation and to best protect patients seeking care for other health concerns.

This has included limited staff interactions, including closing the tea room, running consultations strict to time to prevent patient time in the waiting room, and using N95 masks - which were in short supply - for high-risk patients.

Mr Pierce said a major shortage in rapid antigen test kits was also proving a major headache in managing staff but all were advised to monitor their health careful and to isolate with any potential COVID-19 symptoms or likely exposure.

"Our thing is almost that we want to be over-staffed, which is a real struggle," Mr Pierce said. "We need options moving forward because this looks like an issue that's going to be here for at least a couple of months."

Adapting to ongoing staff shortages is also an issue plaguing the city's hospitality industry.

Many vendors in Ballarat have remained closed or operating on limited capacity amid the latest COVID-19 wave to hit the city.

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Hospitality leader Tim Matthews said told The Courier this week that planning for ongoing staff shortages was necessary and highly unpredictable.

"It's highly likely that we're going to have to plan for various scenarios, including opening and closing at different times and offering different services," The Forge director said.

"...Probably one of the trickiest things is that you have to plan for staff shortages but that can come up on the day or mid-shift and they might be told about a contact and they have to go and get a test."

Mr Matthews called for patience as businesses tried to navigate isolation demands as the virus intensified.

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