Tamworth streets stay silent as Country Music cancellation and COVID keeps customers cautious

Despite local case number updates coming to an end on January 14, people are showing extreme caution, with the CBD seeing significantly less foot traffic than usual.

The ghost of the Country Music Festival's scrapped January dates also having an impact, with many outlets having readied themselves for a boom that never came.

It means businesses such as The Tudor Hotel are experiencing one their leanest Januarys in years.

"It's been pretty quiet since Christmas, Christmas was pretty busy but since the new restrictions came back in it's been pretty quiet," assistant venue manager Andrew Kellett said.

"Once the numbers start going up you start noticing that people are not even walking the streets anymore, you can get a park in the main street pretty easy and there's hardly anyone walking around.

"Everyone is just getting to the point that they don't want to get sick."

He said even stopping the local case number updates - which Hunter New England Health decided to do after deeming it was no longer an accurate reflection of cases given the rise of rapid antigen tests - made little difference as word of mouth had taken hold.

Mr Kellett said given how many cases there had been in Tamworth over the past couple months, nearly everyone knows or is aware of someone in their social circle who has had COVID.

Powerhouse Hotel general manager Daine Cooper said while things had remained fairly consistent on weekends at the Workshop Kitchen, there had been a noticeable drop off in patronage on weeknights.

"After we got through a Christmas into the New Year it's been a bit of a struggle, with case numbers rising locally and everywhere else I think people were a bit tentative to travel or get out," he said.

"I think the Workshop Kitchen has been impacted more so from corporate travellers and the cancellation of the Country Music Festival.

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He said some corporates had chosen not to come to Tamworth during the festival and did not change their plans once it was postponed, while others are deciding not to send employees on business trips during the Omicron outbreak.

The saving grace, according to Mr Cooper, has been the booming Friday and Saturday night service, which he said indicates there are still people confident to get out and about during this time.

One place that is also still seeing busy periods is Hopscotch Cafe, but despite a high demand on Saturday and Sunday mornings, manager Lizzy Blackman said it has been quiet compared to previous years.

"I'd say there's been a decrease compared with past years at this time of the year," she said.

She believes that is down to the festival postponment more so than hesitancy around COVID.

Ms Blackman is hoping to see more people out and about over the coming weeks though, with the state's medical experts claiming case numbers have likely hit their peak and are beginning to curve downwards.

The Tudor's Mr Kellett is also crossing his fingers that is the case, and said he would love to see the city return to its usual, bustling self.

"It would be nice to ease the restrictions heading into April when the festival is on again, and if that is the case, it will make things a bit easier for us and the festival can go off with a bang," he said.

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