A magistrate will be back in Tamworth Local Court from Monday to deal with a long list of matters after the two-week shutdown, while the district court will return to the city for its first sittings of 2022 in February.

A Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) spokesperson told the Leader the safety of the community and court staff was a key priority.

"COVIDSafe measures in our court system include checking in using QR codes, physical distancing and mandatory face mask wearing," the spokesperson said.

People with COVID-19 symptoms, or those who have the virus or are a contact, should not come to court, according to the DCJ.

Read also:

Jury trials in Tamworth District Court are set to continue, but jurors will have to undertake routine rapid antigen testing and will have larger deliberation rooms, empanelment areas and individual meals served to them.

On Friday evening, just a couple of days before court resumed, chief magistrate Judge Peter Johnstone issued a memorandum indicating the local courts of NSW had been affected by the rising case counts.

He said the decision had been made to vacate all defended hearings - including matters where the accused was behind bars - across the state until January 21.

The memorandum said other cases will still be called but there are ways for lawyers and people with matters to avoid coming into the courthouse in person, after a surge of COVID-19 cases across the past few weeks.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: