A nursing home CEO has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of throwing the aged-care sector "under the bus" by warning operators to stop imposing stricter visitor rules beyond the national coronavirus advice.

Key points: A Newcastle nursing home insists closing to visitors is necessary to prevent outbreaks of COVID-19

A Newcastle nursing home insists closing to visitors is necessary to prevent outbreaks of COVID-19 The Prime Minister and Chief Health Officer have urged aged-care facilities to allow more visitors

The Prime Minister and Chief Health Officer have urged aged-care facilities to allow more visitors The nurses' union says a pool of unemployed casual nurses is available to help nursing homes ensure visitors are screened

Mr Morrison says the advice is that residents can have two visitors a day and has warned against nursing homes going into lockdown by barring families from seeing their elderly relatives

But Viv Allanson, Chief Executive of Maroba nursing home in Newcastle, said she had no intention of lifting her facility's ban on visits from relatives.

She said she had assessed the risks to residents and staff based on the medical advice, along with factors like access to personal protective equipment (PPE).

"I am not on my own in this sector. There are hundreds of aged-care providers doing their best and the Commonwealth Government has thrown the whole of the aged-care sector under the bus," she said.

"We have been demonised, now is not the time to be baying for blood when in fact we are trying to protect people."

Maroba nursing home in Newcastle, which is refusing to allow visitors during the coronavirus crisis. ( ABC Newcastle: Liz Farquhar )

Not a full lockdown

Ms Allanson said she had been introducing measures to avoid coronavirus infection at the Newcastle nursing home since January.

"We look at staffing and availability of PPE, given that we knew very quickly that supply chains completely dried up.

"The government says we'll come in and help you, there's a national stockpile, but it's no good waiting until there's an outbreak to get more supplies. Our goal is to prevent an outbreak.

"We stepped up our restrictions over time, now the only people we have coming in are those whose relatives are acutely ill or are palliating.

"For those, a member of the family is able to stay here overnight, and other family members just come in one at a time for a short period."

She said she was shocked at the lack of support the Prime Minister and Chief Health Officer had shown for the sector.

"As a nurse with 45 years experience I am horrified by their cavalier and careless words.

"He didn't give us any out, he's just thrown us under the bus and said this is all okay."

'I brought mum home'

Juliana Waugh brought her mother home to care for her, after a Newcastle nursing home refused to allow regular visits to stop the spread of coronavirus. ( Supplied: Juliana Waugh )

Juliana Waugh used to visit her mother, who has Alzheimer's, three to four times a week at another Newcastle aged care facility.

But she became so concerned about her being unable to receive visits, or communicate on the phone, she brought her home.

"I'm so glad we were able to bring mum home for a while, but I feel for the families who aren't in our position," she said.

"I am retired so can care for my mum at home now.

"It's a challenge but at least she can see me and my sister, who helps support her here in Newcastle with me, can visit to give me an exercise break."

Unemployed nurses could help

General Secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Associations Brett Holmes said the government needed to provide additional staff to aged-care facilities so they could screen visitors before allowing them in.

Brett Holmes from the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association says unemployed casual nurses could step up to help nursing homes. ( Supplied: NSWNMA )

He said thousands of casual nurses out of work because of the halt to elective surgery could help.

"There are qualified nurses out there looking for work and if the Commonwealth Government wants to open up the aged-care facilities, then that should be done in the safest possible way," he said.

"That should also mean of course the additional resources of PPE to allow that screening to be undertaken in the same way that our public health system is responding to this risk of people from outside the facility bringing in the COVID-19."

He said there should also be a reassessment of how aged-care workers are paid, to address the issue of how staffing impacts infection control.

"We've got a royal commission into aged care that has heard strong evidence about the importance of properly staffing aged-care facilities.

"We need better staffing if we're going to deliver care in the middle of a pandemic that does not put residents at risk.

"Staffing models where people have to have multiple jobs, the low number of full-time and permanent jobs needs to change.

"We need to have a workforce in our aged care facilities that is properly rewarded and given decent working hours so they don't have to work multiple jobs."