The ways humans connect have been irrevocably changed by the coronavirus pandemic, and it is affecting some members of our community more than others.

During the advanced stages of Fred Bingham's dementia, the physical presence of his wife was crucial.

"I needed to be there, to hold his hand, for him to actually know I was there," Penny Bingham said.

"The window meeting would not have worked for Fred."

Mrs Bingham thinks of those people living with dementia and their carers who have been forced apart by the coronavirus threat, particularly in Melbourne.

"It is so confusing for those with dementia that are not seeing their families, and not understanding why families aren't coming," she said.

"Maintaining social interaction is so important when you have dementia and that's been curtailed.

"So many people are impacted by isolation, and it's a double whammy for people with dementia and their carers.

"Things like support groups can be done virtually, but for those with advanced dementia, they don't make a connection via video.

"It's the significance of touch as communication."

The Rutherglen woman is grateful her final weeks with her husband were not impacted greatly by the pandemic.

She had anticipated losing Fred for seven years, after he was diagnosed with Lewy Body disease, but said in no way could one 'prepare' for such a loss.

"We contributed as well as we could to his quality of life, and there's certain comfort in that," she said.

"It changes your worldview, it changes you as an individual.

"I think of a quote from Ken Doka ... 'grief is a constant companion with dementia and it is present throughout the illness and after death, however it does not have to be the only companion'."

Companionship has come for Mrs Bingham through her work on programs at the facility where her husband received care, and a support group created through Beechworth Health Service four years ago.

Mrs Bingham spoke on Thursday about 'life after care' for Dementia Action Week at an online forum, run by a Sydney-based group called Dementia Reframed.

"They are looking at re-framing it in a more positive way, looking at the capacity to live well with dementia - trying to get rid of the stigma," she said.

"The grieving goes on, but you've got to take the positives out of life and out of the experience.

"I have so many things to be thankful for.

"I'm looking to do all those things that have been on hold for the past seven years - some writing and some work on my garden, which has sadly been neglected.

"I'm going to finish a patchwork quilt that I started six years ago, and when we can travel a bit, who knows?"

Brian and Paul met their life partners at around the same age and each enjoyed marriages that spanned nearly 60 years.

The way dementia presented in their wives shared some similarities, too.

"There were inconsistencies; she didn't like certain things anymore," Brian said.

"One morning I was sitting at the breakfast table, you'd be talking normally, and all of a sudden she just stared at me. I said 'Are you alright?' and she said, 'Who are you?'. That's when it really hit me."

Paul's wife Rachel was diagnosed in 2011, and her dementia was progressing rapidly within three years.

"They give you these tests, and with one they draw the face of a clock and ask you to put the numbers in," he said.

"She could get to three, but couldn't get to six - she was just going blank.

"Some days you might think 'She is a bit more active today', but that's what it was like - they're with you and then they're not.

"An example was we had a gas stove top, and used to boil the kettle that way.

"Eventually the bottom fell out of the kettle, and I went and bought an electric one.

"Rachel put it on the gas stove, and I thought at the time, 'that's understandable', but she did to two other kettles - at our daughter's and at our friend's.

"Sometimes her brain held the new information, and other times it didn't."

Brian was fascinated and devastated by the ways dementia affected his wife's cognitive function.

"They say hearing is the last thing the person loses," he said.

"Christine would always recognise my voice; when she was at Mercy [Health], as soon as I walked in and she heard my voice, her head would turn, and I would give her a peck on the cheek.

"Even up to a couple days before she passed away, I would touch her on the lips and say 'give me a kiss', and she recognised what I was saying even then."

After losing his wife earlier this month, Brian still prepares breakfast for her in the mornings.

Paul will do also do things to acknowledge his wife, two years after she passed away.

"We were married at 21. You take all those years into consideration, it's basically all your life," he said.

"But, you're on of millions going through the same process.

"You've just got to try and make it as easy as possible for her or him ... and remember they are the person you love."

Names have been changed for the purposes of this story.

The concept behind Dementia Australia's action week is to demonstrate that many people living with the condition can continue to live well for many years after their diagnosis.

Mercy Health national director of care and clinical leadership Kathryn McNulty said it was important to act if a person noticed symptoms within themselves or a loved one.

"Forgetting things is common to everyone, but there's other signs and symptoms which perhaps can be a bit more telling," she said.

"The person's personality might be a little bit different, or they could have difficulty doing day-to-day things; most of us have a routine in the morning and these routines and things of a lifetime might suddenly become more difficult to complete.

"Those are some of the things to look out for."

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Ms McNulty said the sooner families acted, the sooner planning could be done to get the right supports in place.

If that involved residential care, it would take some adjustment.

"That's where that familiarity with the resident becomes really important, which makes the role of families and friends really crucial," she said.

"When you have had the opportunity to build a relationship with the family, to give them the confidence their relative will be looked after, you see a sense of calm.

"That's a big thing."