The 1989 earthquake. The Pasha Bulker storm. The recent bushfire season.

The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception.

There is no doubt the outbreak of the coronavirus has disrupted community life in Newcastle and will for some time to come.

Businesses are suffering, many people face unemployment, and vulnerable groups such as the elderly are at risk of becoming more isolated.

That's why it's imperative, now more than ever, that we work together.

City of Newcastle has shown its commitment to directly investing in the community by adopting the COVID-19 Community and Economic Development Resilience Package.

Worth $5.5 million in the short-term, the package underlines the value and importance of community well-being at this challenging and unprecedented time.

It focuses efforts on the areas where local government has clear strength and mandate to bolster social cohesion.

Beyond providing rent relief for City of Newcastle tenants, financial hardship support to ratepayers, and making changes to the council's procurement policy to favour local businesses and fast-track invoice payments - all of which are necessary, immediate levers to pull - the package implements a raft of social support systems that sets it apart from others.

Education and information are the focal point, equipping individuals, business owners and non-government organisations over the coming weeks and months with the tools to cushion the blow from the economic fallout locally.

One such measure is to help small businesses access online training programs and tutoring support to enable workers to upskill during a period of slow economic activity and idle time.

The flow-on effect is a transformation of skills in the local economy, with more small businesses in Newcastle engaged in the digital marketplace.

About 3500 courses on Lynda - an online training platform via LinkedIn - will be curated and geared towards strategic business development opportunities, such as digital literacy for small business, online retail, digital marketing and business transformation.

Each of these skills have proven useful in the current environment, where businesses have been forced to pivot their business models to adapt to a new, albeit temporary, way of life.

Newcastle Libraries will also expand its subscription to Studiosity, which provides one-to-one tutoring for school and tertiary students.

Both Lynda and Studiosity are available to all Newcastle Libraries members, of which there are 90,000 - making the library a powerful way of supporting vulnerable people in our community.

What you need to know now:

This will complement an expansion of the city's digital library services to include e-book and audiobook platforms with thousands of titles; music and movie streaming services; digital magazines and international and regional newspapers; as well as National Geographic Online and more.

During periods of social isolation, access to digital library facilities - while their bricks-and-mortar counterparts are closed - promotes personal well-being and enjoyment.

City of Newcastle will also support local small businesses with fewer than 20 employees to put themselves and their staff through professional development training, in a move that aims to drive opportunities for local training and tertiary providers, while upskilling our local small business network.

Further connecting the community with local businesses, the Lean-In Newy initiative drives local expenditure by harnessing the power of social actions.

To be delivered via an app developed by tech scale-up GreenBe, some of whose staff are based in Newcastle, the app nudges, engages and propels local behaviour by posting incentivised 'challenges'.

For instance, a user answers the call for more Meals on Wheels volunteers and is rewarded with points redeemable at a local café or small business.

Social action completed; money spent: a win-win.

This measure also delivers on the Newcastle 2030 Community Strategic Plan to shape a community that cares for and looks after one another.

City of Newcastle recognises that non-government organisations, not-for-profits, charities and community groups are well-placed to respond to community need, which is why the council has pledged financial and in-kind support, up to $800,000, for those Newcastle-based groups to deliver essential services and innovative solutions to COVID-19 challenges faced by the most vulnerable and emerging at-risk groups in the community.

This is only the beginning of the council's response to COVID-19.

Phase two of the COVID-19 Community and Economic Development Resilience Package will focus on the road to recovery and the potential challenges we might face in rebuilding the city - together.

For more information on City of Newcastle's response to COVID-19, visit newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Council/News/Latest-News/COVID-19-how-we-are-responding.