Right now in Sydney, residents there are required to wear masks at multiple unlicensed locations. While over the Christmas period the northern beaches area were locked down which caused significant stress on their local economy.

However, let us not have a false belief that being 400kms away from the outbreak that we can let our guard down. All it takes is just one carrier (who could be who could be showing no symptoms at all) to enter our region for the virus to spread like a bushfire. While the vaccine is now only months away, we must remember it will be a long time after the rollout that the whole community will start to see the lower infection rate. The reality is we could be 12 months away before we can return to some form of normality.

READ ALSO:

- Man tests positive for COVID-19, has visited Nyngan, Broken Hill and Orange

- Thousands raised for family of loving mum Shani after tragic crash

- After 20 years in the gig, Hurst hits a 600 milestone

So given that we are still not out of the woods, it is just as important for residents to keep up with the usual COVID hygiene routine. I have had more than a few people tell me that they believe that the COVID-19 pandemic is being handled too harshly. Some even say that the virus is not as bad as reported and the symptoms are only as bad as a small flu. I point out that regardless of these points of view, you should look at the situation from a local viewpoint. The fact is if COVID were to breakout here in the Dubbo region, the state government would simply lock us all down. To be clear, if this were to happen, our economy would be devastated, people would lose their jobs and households would be isolated. That's not a good thing no matter what viewpoint you have on the virus.

I'm a big believer that 2021 can be one of Dubbo's greatest years - despite whatever happens nationally with the COVID virus.

We have entered 2021 with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, with a real estate market going gangbusters, with a construction industry super-busy, with tourism and accommodation providers reporting best ever numbers and we have a retail sector on the up. To keep the momentum, we need to keep on top of the COVID virus.

Don't forget that nominations for Australia Day Awards close at 5pm on Monday, January 11. In Dubbo we are looking for nominations for these categories: Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Sportsperson of the Year, Young Sportsperson of the Year, Services to Sport Award, and Cultural Person of the Year. And in Wellington we are looking for nominations for: Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Sportsperson of the Year, Young Sportsperson of the Year, Community Service Award, and Community Event of the Year.

Nomination forms are available online at dubbo.nsw.gov.au or grab a form from our Dubbo or Wellington Customer Experience teams.