Murchison independent MLC Ruth Forrest has spoken out strongly against internet trolls who she has blamed for vilifying health care workers on the North-West Coast.

During a debate in the Legislative Council on Thursday night, Ms Forrest said North-West health workers and community members had felt maligned by people from other areas of the state, some of which had laid blame on them for the outbreak of coronavirus in the region.

"When are some Tasmanians going to stop being such mongrels?" she said.

"I hope now that this report (on the outbreak) is out, people in other parts of the state can pull their head in."

Ms Forrest criticised the country's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy and Prime Minister Scott Morrison for relying on rumour and innuendo when making public statements on the cause of the outbreak.

"You've got no idea of the harm that this caused for (health workers)," she said.

"None of us have had to suffer the vilification, the rumour-mongering and the hate that has been thrown at some of these people.

"These people have put their lives on the line for us."

Ms Forrest said she had received numerous and lengthy calls from distressed workers in isolation who felt they needed to be heard.

Professor Murphy last month attributed blame for a cluster of 49 coronavirus cases to the region's health workers before a New Zealand parliamentary committee.

"Most of them went to an illegal dinner party of medical workers," he said over a broadcast.

A Public Health Services investigation and a Tasmania Police investigation found no evidence to support the claim.

Professor Murphy this week issued an apology to North-West health workers.

A week after his comments about the illegal party, Mr Morrison appeared on radio and said an age care worker was dishonest about their movements while they were infectious.

"We've had someone down there not tell the truth to the contact tracers about where they'd been and who they'd been with and that means that a lot of people have been put at risk in North-West Tasmania," he said.

Premier Peter Gutwein in releasing the report on Thursday on the North-West coronavirus outbreak warned Tasmanians against pinning blame for the spread on health workers.

"Most likely the Ruby Princess is the root cause of our problems on the North-West Coast," he said.

"In terms of how this disease has spread is frankly something we will never know.

"No passenger is to blame. No health care worker is to blame."

The Advocate Friday 1 May, 2020