Hospital CEO Grant Frecklington said staff had acted quickly to restrict the spread of the virus.

“There are a number of patients who have come down with gastro,” Mr Frecklington said.

“There’s no information on how it came in, we presume it came in with one of the patients.”

Mr Frecklington said protocols used to stop the spread included patient isolation and restricting their movement, notifying the state’s public health unit and restricting visitor access.

One of the hospital’s three wards was locked down on Wednesday morning and Mr Frecklington said staff had confined affected patients to one unit in the ward.

“The majority of patients are asymptomatic which means the virus has passed and the patients are on the mend,” Mr Frecklington said.

He said the effect of gastro was dependent on the patient, with some people afflicted for a number of hours while others could exhibit symptoms for up to 48 hours.

There’s no estimate for how long the lockdown will remain in place for.

“The lock down will be raised once every patient is healthy,” he said.

“I’m proud of what staff have done in being able to manage this, [gastro] is so easily passed on.”