It was more than a decade ago when Tracey Oakman penned a science fiction novel titled The Pandemic Plan.
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She is now playing out her plan in real life as the leader of the public response to the coronavirus pandemic in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District.
Mrs Oakman said the book was written as a way to get through to the public about the serious nature of a pandemic "when the concept seems to far-fetched".
The book tells the story of Estelle, the director of a public health unit, whose team is responsible for containing a menacing flu pandemic.
"Hospitals are stretched beyond capabilities and people are dying in the thousands. The ugly side of humanity is seen but is also balanced by the noble care for others," the synopsis reads.
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"Even before swine flu, we had always done planning for outbreaks and pandemics and always been prepared. And even though every pandemic teaches us something new, there are underlying principles that we have been trained in over a long time," Mrs Oakman said.
Shortly after the book was written, swine flu gave Mrs Oakman her first opportunity to swing that training into action.
"That pandemic wasn't as severe as our current situation, but the lessons learned from it were huge and have been carried over to our response to COVID-19," she said.
"People want certainty and with a pandemic sometimes we can't know the answers, because no-one does.
"It's a challenging time to provide stability in a very unstable environment.
"One of the highlights this year has been working with my extraordinary hard-working team, who are adaptable and do what it takes to get the issues resolved."
