Martin Gaspari has volunteered for St John Ambulance for 24 years.
He is a registered nurse and a paramedic who usually works at a hospital in Sydney's south-west. But most recently, he's been at the frontline of the state's COVID-19 response, either at quarantine hotels or drive-through testing clinics.
"It could just be one of us or it could be a couple of us, or a division," he told SBS News.
"We meet here and they position us to what they want us to do."
Mr Gaspari's qualifications mean he can do everything from registering to swabbing. And while he's very much on the frontline, the idea of danger hasn't crossed his mind.
A sign pointing to a COVID-19 drive through clinic. Source: AAP
"It was just wanting to be out there, and I was so glad that St John was part of that deployment," he said.
"Once we started, I decided to do as much as I could on my days off."
St John Ambulance Australia is the country's leading supplier of first aid products, services and training. Every year it delivers 1.2 million hours of voluntary community service, trains 500,000 people and treats 100,000 people at public events.
In New South Wales alone, almost 500 St John Ambulance members have provided nearly 9,000 hours of coronavirus-related support.
"It's one of the things that gets me out of bed every morning," said St John Ambulance NSW general manager Andrew Sitaramayya.
The Summer Hill clinic is one of Sydney's busiest. Source: SBS
"Knowing that the organisation that I work for is playing such an important role in the community - I couldn't be prouder."
Annmaree Lavery was redeployed from a child and family health centre and is now the team leader of the Summer Hill drive-through clinic, which is one of Sydney's busiest.
"We constantly arrive and see a big queue up the road and think 'wow'," she said.
Annmaree Lavery is volunteering in Australia's fight against COVID-19. Source: SBS
"The queue there now, that was there before we opened at 8:30am, so it can be a huge day."
Authorities are pleased to see such queues though, as it means testing rates are high.
Ms Lavery says although she'll be relieved to see the back of the pandemic, she will miss the experience of working at the drive-through clinic.
"It's been interesting," she said. "We're dealing with the public, the people we work with are amazing.
"And then actually working with the people coming in to be tested, we will miss, I'll miss it."
For Mr Gaspari, he sees stopping the spread of COVID-19 being as simple as thinking twice.
"It is very easy to just shake someone's hand, but if we slow things down and just think before we act, we're going to be a lot safer," he said.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits.
If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
