Most were.

The Hunter's frontline health care workers had seen the footage from overseas.

The overflowing hospitals. Makeshift wards. Mass grave sites.

They had heard healthcare workers were contracting the virus while trying to save lives, and stories of doctors and nurses having to choose which patients received intensive care because there was not enough resources to save everyone.

They had seen images of people saying goodbye to their loved ones via an iPad screen.

People dying alone.

But they knew they had a job to do, and they were ready to do it - even before the Hunter had its first confirmed case of the virus in March.

"We were quite nervous, and we were worried about the unknown - especially watching the news from overseas, and thinking that was our future," Alexandra Mexon, the Nurse Unit Manager of the John Hunter Hospital's F2 ward, which became the COVID ward, said.

"That was quite daunting. But really, we were actually quite calm. Eerily calm."

Her colleagues on the COVID ward were highly trained respiratory nurses, used to working with infectious diseases.

They had all gone into nursing to help people.

Despite knowing the risks, they felt confident in their skills, and that following the appropriate procedures would keep them safe.

"It was a very humbling experience," she said.

"I think we were all proud of each other, that we were working on something that would go down in history."

The Hunter's COVID-19 response team methodically planned for the worst, and hoped for the best.

Today marks "Day 344" of planning and preparations for COVID-19 in Hunter New England.

Medical controller Dr Paul Craven and functional area coordinator Elizabeth Grist were high on the chain of command, calling the shots as wards were transformed and moved, ready to surge the intensive care capacity should the worst occur.

"We started to close the beds in preparation for an influx of COVID patients," Ms Mexon said.

"One side of the ward was transformed into what we call the red zone - that's COVID-positive, and the other side was orange, which was COVID-pending - so people waiting for results.

"Then there was green, which was not on our ward, but that was for all the other patients that weren't COVID. Because people were still getting sick from other things."

Then, they waited.

"We were watching what was happening in New York and Spain and Italy, and expecting we were going to be working ridiculous hours and people were going to get sick," Ms Mexon said.

"Thankfully - it never quite got to that point.

"But we had to be prepared. And we were."

Cases in the Hunter began to roll in, particularly after the Ruby Princess debacle.

Ms Mexon said they had been aware of the high stakes should they become infected with COVID-19.

"We felt really confident that we knew what we were doing, but there is always the potential to get sick," she said.

"I didn't go and see my family for months. I didn't see my grandparents for at least five months.

"I lived on my own back in April - which was good and bad.

"Good because I was confident I wasn't going to be around anyone when I got home, but not the best when you're in lockdown with no one to go home to."

Whenever a patient received a negative swab, or was discharged from the ward, the staff rang a bell and cheered and clapped.

"Some of them were really, really sick, and to see them walk out was amazing," she said.

But the region's pandemic response had been an incredible team effort.

Decisions had to be made quickly to keep up with the rapidly changing situation, but the staff had all "stepped up".

Dr Craven and Ms Grist said every single health worker in the Hunter played a role - including GPs, nurses and admin staff in the Primary Health Network.

"Throughout the last 300-odd days, no one has said 'no' to us," Dr Craven said.

"Whether it was screening at the hospital doors, manning the testing stations, executing the ideas in the ward, everybody throughout the whole district has come together to do this."

The executive team worked to ensure there was enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to go around, and to make sure there was adequate equipment - and staff - to treat all patients, not just those with the virus.

Keeping COVID-19 out of the hospital was key.

The COVID Care In the Home team looked after the majority of the Hunter's positive cases.

They also screened and swabbed people arriving at Newcastle's port.

Non-urgent elective surgeries were postponed. Visitors to the hospital were restricted.

There was extra training and upskilling. Screening stations and drive-through testing clinics were established.

Undergraduates studying nursing, medical and allied health degrees at the district's universities were approached to be trained to do screening and swabbing.

"The Hunter's contact tracers have been the backbone of our response, keeping the lid on the pandemic, and they have done an incredible job," Ms Grist said.

"But the cooks, the cleaners, the laundry staff and the orderlies, the admin staff, IT, security, and allied health teams all showed up and played their part to keep everything running smoothly too."

Nurses and pathology staff braved heavy rain, wind, humidity and high temperatures - in full PPE - to ensure people could be swabbed and tested for COVID.

Courier staff drove back and forth between testing clinics across the district to distribute kits, collect tests, and get them back to the labs - initially in Sydney, then the John Hunter Hospital.

Lab technicians were working 16-hour days in peak periods to get results back to people in the community as quickly as possible.

A Newcastle pathology team developed the digital system that delivers negative COVID-19 test results via SMS within 24-48 hours, and Hunter New England Health's communications staff ensured the media and the public received accurate information and alerts as quickly as possible.

It has been the combined efforts of our health staff that has kept our community safe to date, and we owe them a great deal of gratitude.

Thank you.

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