It was described as an "extreme measure" by Tasmania Police Commissioner Darren Hine who said responding to the coronavirus pandemic was the "top priority" for the department.

Coronavirus: All the latest updates on COVID-19 for Tasmania

That response will include dedicated officers in each district assisting public health with isolation checks and identifying those who have been in contact with confirmed coronavirus cases.

Police will also be checking airports and the Spirit of Tasmania terminal, which will lead to a "reduction in other services".

Details about which services would be affected were not provided.

"We have detailed plans about how we reduce various services to make sure we can put resources into enforcing and randomly checking," Commissioner Hine said.

"We know we can't do everything, this is our number one priority at the moment, this is about keeping the community safe, this is about keeping our workers safe too.

"We know this is going to be a marathon not a sprint, this will go on for a number of months.

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Police also have the power to arrest and fine those who do not comply with the latest restrictions, after Premier Peter Gutwein declared a state of emergency last week.

Nobody had been charged as of Wednesday, and Commissioner Hine said it would be an "absolute last resort".

"We do not want to arrest anyone, we do not want to issue fines, but if we need to in extreme cases, of course we will," he said.

"We want people to actually obey what they need to do."

The state's police radio room had already received "numerous calls" from members of the public reporting cases of people not following the rules, and not self-isolating when required.

Tasmanians who fail to self-isolate when ordered to do so face a fine of up to $16,800 and up to six months behind bars.

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