Jayne Costello, 31, told the court she didn't realise "the seriousness" of being a confirmed case or of the pandemic when she pleaded guilty failing to comply with a self isolation direction in Wollongong Local Court on Thursday.

Magistrate Claire Girotto sentenced her to a community corrections order for 12 months and fined despite hearing Costello had left her home on three occasions since testing positive on September 9.

She said Costello "didn't care about anyone but herself" and was deliberately "flouting the rules".

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Costello was arrested about 6pm on Wednesday after Southern Region Enforcement Squad officers went to her Loftus Street home to ask her why she had left whilst still infected, which was in breach of the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders.

"I was going to the petrol station to buy smokes and to also get tested for COVID," she told the officers.

In court, defence lawyer Greg Melrose said his client donned a mask to go to a drive-through clinic to get a test but when she got there she didn't want to wait in the long queue so she went home and didn't get cigarettes.

He also said she had made arrangements with her sister to drop food off to her.

The court heard Costello was told to self isolate on September 9 but two days later she was found outside her house in Loftus Street and police issued her with a fine and told her to return home.

Two days later police were doing a compliance and welfare check on Costello when they found her up the street meeting with a friend to give him her dog.

When asked why she was out she told them NSW Health said she wasn't infectious however police fined her, again telling her to continue to self isolate.

Mr Melrose said his client admitted she had previously spoken to police officers but had not received any fines.