As cases rise and governments enforce stricter measures to curb the spread of the virus, more people are feeling the pinch.

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Iconic tourists destinations such as the Great Ocean Road and surrounding coastal towns are all but empty at a time normally bustling with activity.

Port Campbell commercial fisherman Zac Taylor said with all orders cancelled and exports up in the air, his future was uncertain.

"This is the best time of the year normally because the eels are migrating but now it's all drying up and I'm sitting on about four tonne of eel," he said.

"Even if export does come back online it depends if suppliers can get fish onto planes to get overseas, at the moment everything's frozen.

"We just don't know how long it's going to last for and the government didn't ease up on licensing fees which are due at the end of the month, they're still full price."

Where the fishing fails, Mr Taylor has a backup job as a tradesman but doesn't know how long that will last either given the current climate.

He said Port Campbell, off the Great Ocean Road typically bursting with visitors, was struggling with the downturn in tourism and sweeping business closures.

"Port Campbell is dead and they have shut the Twelve Apostles down, normally every second car is an international tourist but we just aren't seeing any of that.

"A lot of cafes rely on tourist buses to top their shelves up and the caravan parks are really quiet.

"Everyone is feeling the pinch and it affects everyone down the line."

Matt Bowker, owner and operator of Great Ocean Road school and outdoor education camp Kangaroobie, is scrambling for options after the education department cancelled all school trips.

"No schools are allowed to come because the department cancelled school trips," he said.

"It's one of those things, unfortunately there's a lot of impact across the entire community, everyone is impacted not just us.

"We're worried about our staff and how long this will go for, we're a fully casual workforce and there's no other work now locally.

"We're trying to keep our 12 employees as long as we can but this is a moving beast. At this stage we're assuming we're essentially going to be shut down for six months."

Coastal Ward councillor Simon Illingworth said his community was trying to adjust to a new normal.

"People aren't spending money and they're not going out so there's a bit of a chain reaction now," he said.

"Practically every individual has been affected by this and it seems to be hurting to small people the most, the people on infrequent casual jobs and part time workers seem to be getting hit.

"The Twelve Apostles closing was the straw that broke the camel's back, people who would come to see the apostles won't come, there's a lot of other places they can go of course but that's generally the drawcard for a certain sector of people wanting to come down.

"Around 80 per cent of local BnB businesses are structured around the Chinese market and they literally dropped off the map overnight.

"We really have to set the sails to the current breeze and see what happens."

Fifth generation Byaduk farmer Jackie Elliott said while the short term impact of the coronavirus on the agricultural industry was tough, there may be a silver lining in the long-term.

"There's a bit of panic about moving agricultural machinery through freight before the borders close and getting seed supply to put crops in," she said.

"In the long term Australia might be better at being self-reliant and making sure we store produce on our own shores.

"It's important to share positive stories out of agriculture and as Australian farmers produce food for their own people, I think once we're out the other side people will be looking for quality assurance on their products. Not necessarily organic but paddock to plate and buying local products.

"People are going to have more of a realisation that what we do in Australia has high standard protocols and procedures."

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