Tamworth COVID-19: how businesses, health workers and leaders survived the unforgettable 12 months since last local coronavirus case recorded

The shopfronts are back open across the Tamworth CBD, the JobKeeper wage booster is gone, and so is mandatory mask wearing as the city navigates the vaccine rollout.

Frontline healthcare workers, residents and businesses have had their everyday way of life completely transformed to adapt to a COVID-safe routine.

As Tamworth marks the COVID-free milestone, the Leader spoke to local businesses who are bouncing back after losing it all; the doctors who feared for both themselves and their patients; and the leaders at the helm trying to navigate a sea of constant uncertainty and rapidly changing information, as they geared for the worst case scenario.

The last COVID-19 case was officially recorded at Tamworth hospital on April 17, 2020. On that day, doctors discovered a positive test result for the virus, one day after a woman had tragically died in a ward.

Testing only revealed the 58-year-old had coronavirus the day after she died.

Doctors warn the risk hasn't gone yet, but Tamworth's leaders can feel the mood lifting.

TAMWORTH GP Dr Ian Kamerman said medical professionals are trained to be ready for anything.

But, when the pandemic hit, it was a "huge scare" and a "big wake-up call" to find out the virus had hit Australian shores.

"The fact of not knowing whether you were going to be exposed to the virus day-in, day-out at work, and of course bring it home to your family or spread it to other patients - that's why it suddenly became very, very real," Dr Kamerman told the Leader.

"It's been a very much learning-as-you-go experience, it's okay to think about these things theoretically but in practice ... it was really bizarre at the time."

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Dr Kamerman said there had been a whole lot of change across the board in private practice - from wearing masks and protective equipment to becoming reliant on telehealth.

"I think unfortunately one issue has been people have been reluctant to see their GP because of the risk and part of switching to telehealth is that some things do get missed, things like ... preventative care when you're in a pandemic tends to get buried underneath the things that are staring you in the face," he said.

"Telehealth is not the be-all and end-all but it has been a huge improvement in the way we can undertake GP services."

Dr Kamerman said it's been positive to see the vaccine rollout start in Tamworth, but warned some changes to the way of life could stick around.

"There is always going to be COVID around but it will just become something in the same way we treat influenza, we hope," he said.

"It's very much the good fortune and good luck and good public health services that we have in Australia that have brought us to the place we are now, but if we are to move forward it's a matter of immunisation."

WHEN Tamworth was forced into a snap lockdown last year, Jake Douglas lost his entire income.

The Snake Athletic owner said he was "completely gutted" when he found out the doors to his gym would be slammed shut indefinitely.

"I lost all of my income overnight, I have a young family and ... it was a really, really tough time," he said.

"It was some of the hardest times of my life, but the shining light was seeing the people that do have your back."

The fitness company has been navigating changes and adapting throughout the pandemic, and Mr Douglas said COVID-19 has really shaken things up.

"It's a completely different business now to be honest, you can't even compare," he said.

"We are still adapting and making changes and ... we are just evolving to figure out where we stand.

"The product is a lot better than what it was pre-COVID ... we took a hit financially during that time but I think now we can see that if we keep doing what we're doing this should work out well."

Snake Athletic has built back up a strong community, and now has double the staff it did pre-pandemic.

"We have a whole bunch of new people, COVID sprung them into action and they were sick of sitting around I think, so our community is amazing at the moment," Mr Douglas said.

One year on, the business still has strict health guidelines to follow, like capping classes.

"There are no cases around here but I'm not getting my hopes up, but I'm also not living in a world where I'm so scared about it," he said.

"You never think you're going to live through a pandemic ... right now it feels like anything is possible so we're ready for whatever comes at us."

THINGS DIDN'T really feel like they were getting back to normal until pub-goers were allowed to stand up for a drink and have a boogie, according to Tudor Hotel manager Shauna Riley.

"It's all starting to feel a bit more comfortable and relaxed," she said.

Looking back to last year, the looming threat of coronavirus cast a shadow over Tamworth's social scene.

Ms Riley is just happy to see people getting into the groove of dancing at the pub again - even though she's seen some pretty rusty moves since the months-long boogie ban was lifted.

"The pub felt like there was no vibe to it, people were on edge ... so now to be able to come out and stand up and have a drink and move freely around it's nearly like COVID wasn't even here," she said.

Ms Riley said the pub closed for more than three months, which was "hard on business" but ultimately brought the staff closer together.

"It's amazing what 14 weeks does to people," she said.

"It was a little bit scary, when we were open we still had people travelling through and not wearing masks and we felt like we should wear masks but also didn't want to scare people."

Ms Riley said despite the rollercoaster of a year, it was good to see people hanging around again.

"It was great food-wise, but people were dining and leaving, so I think the thing that struggled the most was nightlife," she said.

WHILE most of Tamworth was bunkered down at home this time last year, frontline health staff were busy preparing for a worst case scenario.

Hunter New England Health's executive director of rural and regional health services, Susan Heyman, is a problem solver every day, but said COVID posed challenges no one could have seen coming.

"We very much were in those early days preparing for the worst case scenario ... we were preparing our facilities and our staff and our surge capacity to respond if people did get very, very sick and need intensive care units and oxygen," she said.

"We were really looking at what equipment we had and staff we had and what facilities or beds we had available, now thank goodness we didn't have to use that and the numbers were very low."

Ms Heyman said health staff have been busier than ever, as confidence in seeking out medical help rises again.

"People were hesitant to receive services and that's now changed and certainly over the last few months we have seen an unprecedented level of activity so people have come back seeking healthcare services in high numbers," she said.

"We can't [be anything] but pleased, if you look at the way Australia has responded to the pandemic ... here locally our community has really galvanised together and done the right thing."

Tamworth mayor Col Murray has been at the council helm through devastating drought, floods and now COVID-19.

He said he's been impressed at the resilience of council, businesses, residents and even himself, as the world shut down and moved online.

"We all learnt so much and I'm a bit of a techno dinosour and it's been challenging but also surprising ... you just do what you have to do," he said.

Cr Murray has had his retirement delayed by a year, but he said it was something he accepted early on.

"Something that affects every single person in the whole community, it's one of those periods where you need to demonstrate leadership," he said.

Cr Murray said it was good to see businesses "bouncing back in grand style" in Tamworth.

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