"It seems ridiculous," she said. "I have to leave the house nearly every day to go to work. There are so many workers in Australia that still have a requirement to go to work and socialise with hundreds of people."

But the 23-year-old cafe manager from Charlestown said hospitality workers like herself were "stuck between a rock and a hard place".

"People don't need coffee to survive," she said. "But it's also my job. I have a responsibility to maintain the business and keep the casual employees with jobs and an income. Despite how necessary all these changes are, people need to keep in mind that it is also frustrating and stressful for us."

Audrey suffers from ongoing health issues, has a low white blood cell count, and lives with severe anxiety. Turning up to work each day with a smile is getting harder but she is taking the ongoing health crisis caused by the coronavirus a day at a time.

"A lot of people are stressed and it's easy to take it out on someone you don't have a relationship with, like a retail or hospitality worker," she said. "I'm trying not to let things get to me and to see this as a way to become a better version of myself; a stronger, more compassionate and tolerant person."

Young people, aged 20 to 29, are among the most prolific number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in NSW. 611 have tested positive as of Wednesday, according to NSW Health; one in four of the state's total number of confirmed cases, now 2822, are younger than 30.

Kyrah Priest, a 19-year-old bartender studying nursing at the University of Newcastle, has been inside for almost two weeks.

"Time passes so fast now, I'm not even sure what day it is most of the time," she said. Kyrah lives at Stockton with her fiance, Finbar, and has been out of work since the Prime Minister announced restrictions to slow the spread of the virus. Before then, she and her partner were looking to buy their first home. Now, she is worried how she will make rent without her regular income, and has been feeling restless the longer she is cooped up indoors.

"I'm completely out of work," she said. "I was working a normal shift two Sundays ago and that night I was told not to come in the next morning."

In a cruel twist of fate, Kyrah had only recently left a job where she had been working for several years to new employment as a casual. She has been steadily employed for years, but she is not eligible for the government's JobKeeper assistance.

"It is a lot to process in a short amount of time," she said. "It's left me no time to prepare for what I was going to do next.

"I had a full-blown panic attack the other day because my house was "messy". It's not messy. I'm a clean freak. My fiance took me out to buy a new vacuum and steam mop, which made me feel better. Not just because I could clean my house top to bottom, but because we went out. The human connection and acting like life was a little bit normal was what made me feel better, not the vacuum."

At Cardiff, Charlie Ekin, a 20-year-old bartender and tutor studying physiotherapy, is settling into a routine but he is tired of feeling uncertain about the future. He has been out of work for more than two weeks and has tried to apply for assistance through Centrelink but was unsure if he was eligible. He lives at home, his dad is a tradesman, and work is slow amid the ongoing crisis. His mum is a sonographer, and work at the hopsital has been busy.

Charlie is putting his extra time into his university work. He said his tutors were well prepared with online courses and he has adjusted relatively easily. He's looking at the situation as a "learning curve"; he's critical of the government's response, but said life will eventually get back to normal.

"The Aussie culture is very social and it's hard to break that," he said. "We need the hard truths that this virus is deadly and not just a pisstake." Charlie has spoken to his employers about the federal government's JobKeeper stimulus but said they and he were "still in the dark".

"Everyone is sick of the uncertainty," he said. "A job should never be done half-assed, especially not like this."

Ashley Harrison, a 19-year-old paralegal from Cooks Hill, has lost her hours at a gelato shop on King Street where she has worked for three years between university study and working a day each week at a Newcastle law firm. She normally lives her life "on the go, out and about, running between socialising and work commitments", but the virus has ground her routine to a halt.

She knows a number of people who have been tested for COVID-19, including her aunt, but all have returned negative results.

"It's very hard to have to slow down," she said. "I think we're all disheartened and have lost some of our motivation to continue working when we're so worried and drained.

"In that sense, the university has been supportive. But, basically all of my friends have lost their jobs. They're comforted by the fact they can eventually access Centrelink but they've been disheartened by how hard that process is. I think JobKeeper is great for those who are still employed, but most people can't continue to work anyway, so it is really those other Centrelink payments that will have a far-reaching impact."

Sophie Carson, 19, is studying secondary education and works part time at a pharmacy. She is living at home with her parents at Rankin Park, using FaceTime to keep in contact with her friends and partner, and is considering starting a diary to remember the stranger ways people have responded to the unrest caused by the virus.

"I'll tell my children and their children about the pandemic that caused the world to fight in public over toilet paper and pasta, and wear feminine hygiene products as face masks," she said. And yet, despite the panic, she feels the time in isolation has caused most people to be more empathetic, rather than less.

"Avoiding talking about the virus is near-impossible," she said. "I've spoken about it with everyone I'm close with, but none of us have let it dominate the conversation. I think being in isolation has made us more mindful of others. I know that I'm often thinking of my family, and ways that I can help them, and make sure they know they're loved.

"Tensions at work have been high for employers and employees and although there have been some unpleasant experiences for customer services workers, I believe we're all coming out of this with a little bit more empathy."

Sophie feels uneasy about the risk she could inadvertently contract the virus and bring it home, but when the anxiety feels overwhelming she thinks of her mum - a nurse working through the pandemic.

"My mum has been working incredibly hard with little complaint," she said. "It helps put my position in perspective. I'm incredibly grateful to still have a job."

Charlie has been checking in on his family more often than he did before the virus struck. He thinks life could be better when it comes under control and our social lives gradually recover. "People will appreciate each other's company a lot more and may have new perspectives on life," he said.

Ashley's mind is racing in ways she had never considered before, even as she tries to go about her regular routine.

"I think every time I touch my face," she said. "Or if I go to get groceries; things are running through my mind I had never even considered before.

"I feel a mix of anxiety and relaxation. At the start of the year I was so optimistic and hopeful and had so much planned, and I'm disappointed to have had to change a lot of that. But, I feel very privileged to still be healthy and have a safe place to spend my isolation."

Life will return to normal, Charlie said, but it will be a "long slog".

"People are confused and uncertain," he said, "And the government has not done much to allay that. I'll remember the virus, but it won't be a good memory."

He misses his girlfriend, going out with friends, and face-to-face conversations. Kyrah and Sophie miss their grandparents. Sophie has been holding up, but there are days when the virus weighs on her mind. Ashley misses her partner and spending time out in Newcastle. And Audrey hopes to get back to "the little things" like going out for a coffee.

"I have to keep reminding myself that this is not the new normal," she said. "This is not going to go on forever. Humanity has suffered, and is still suffering from history-defining events, socioeconomic catastrophes, the ongoing suppression of cultures and peoples. If anything, the virus has made me more aware of my privilege. I have all the resources at my fingertips to make sure the impact of this pandemic is felt as little as possible. A lot of people do not and will not have that privilege."

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