NSW's blood bank urgently needs 100,000 donors who are healthy and COVID-19 free as regular donors keep away because of the coronavirus.

Yet frontline staff at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood centres have been told they don't need surgical masks to protect themselves when taking blood or plasma, something they say is impossible to do from 1.5 metres away while practising social distancing. Other than wearing gloves and eye goggle, a staff member who is taking blood said "the only thing" they could do was "wipe down a chair" after someone gave a donation.

"Taking blood means you cannot 'self distance'," said the staff member, who did not want to be named. Some procedures, such as donations of plasma, can take up to two hours. That means staff could be exposed to donors - some of whom could be positive for the virus but asymptomatic - for much longer than recommended.

Another staff member, who also did not want to give their name, said staff were worried. Read more via SMH