Tamworth ANZAC day: Loosened coronavirus rules mean there will be enough room for every veteran at the Dawn Service

With COVID-19 restrictions loosened again this week, some 3000 locals will be able to attend both the dawn and main services on April 25. Sydney's service will be attended by 5000.

RSL sub-branch president Jayne McCarthy said Tamworth's Dawn Service usually attracts between 3000 and 5000 people, so the new cap should accommodate almost everyone who would ordinarily come.

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The day should be almost like an ordinary ANZAC day, she said - though Mrs McCarthy was quick to emphasise 'almost'.

"I was just talking here in the sub branch and the consensus is that it will be back with a vengeance. People will be responsible for their wellbeing and maintain generalised COVID rules," she said.

"It's important to note that we are still finalising COVID plans in conjunction with council support. So it's one of those tricky situations. We've have to do it according to the advice we've got.

"The exciting thing is, we will be able to have an ANZAC Day."

It's still not clear whether the sub-branch will be able to hold more complicated elements like the march.

That's because the local branch has been left with just six weeks to organise a now much-larger event.

"We've got a plan in place, but just because they've lifted the COVID restrictions doesn't make it any easier to organise," she said.

"To go from a really limited plan to a bigger plan is harder to organise."

Residents who don't feel comfortable in a larger crowd during a pandemic can still do a light up the dawn service, she said.

In further cause for celebration for the local sub-branch, the loosened restrictions means they will be able to do their usual ANZAC day fundraising.

Aside from the dawn service, Tamworth usually has four other events: a breakfast, a march at 10, another service at 11 and a community luncheon.

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