St Vincent de Paul Tasmania chief executive Lara Alexander has emphasised the need for government funding to continue supplying masks and rapid antigen tests to residents of the organisation's shelters, vulnerable members of the community and staff without Vinnies having to constantly incur the cost.

Ms Alexander said that for Vinnies members to be there for people in times of need, they would have to ensure volunteers and staff were safe too, by having the necessary protective and testing equipment on hand and available.

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However, with no government subsidies or any clear information about whether financial aid will be provided to charities, the organisation has been forced to bear the brunt of the costs.

"It comes down to a point where you think 'How many $5 T-shirts can we sell to actually cover all of these costs?'" she said.

Ms Alexander said St Vincent de Paul Tasmania spent about $35,000 on protective gear in 2020 and slightly less last year due to a major decrease in community transmission.

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She estimated that those figures could increase in 2022, due to RAT's becoming a necessity, but only if they were successful in sourcing them, which has proven to be an issue for Vinnies.

Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said secure hotel accommodation could be provided to people who test positive to COVID-19, are asymptomatic, or have mild symptoms, and have no suitable premises to isolate at.

He also said Tasmania had secured an ongoing supply of rapid antigen test kits, and that symptomatic people and close contacts of a positive case could obtain them from one of the state-run distribution sites across Tasmania, or by contacting the Public Health Hotline.

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"The government is currently developing a community care package for vulnerable Tasmanians, which will ensure that all people continue to have access to masks, food and testing ... further details on the community care and business support packages will be announced later this week," he said.

Last week, Bethlehem House in Hobart, which is a 24-hour service centre for homeless men that Vinnies own, were down to their last 10 RAT's and could not source more from anywhere.

The facility, full of vulnerable people, needed to ensure its staff were COVID free to protect all concerned and continue to provide its crucial service.

As a last resort, they were purchased online, albeit at an "exorbitant price".

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Ms Alexander also asked for further clarification regarding certain Department of Health guidelines, particularly, what the recommended procedure was in the scenario where a resident in one of the organisation's shelters tested positive.

"Like anyone else, after receiving a positive test, the residents of the shelter are required to isolate at home, but their home is the shelter, which is shared with other residents and staff," she said.

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