The State Government's announcement that regional travel restrictions will be eased and libraries and galleries can reopen from that date signals a shift back to a more normal way of life for Mid Coast residents.

"We are looking forward to welcoming the community back into our spaces," council's director of liveable communities, Paul De Szell said.

From June 1, council's customer service centres in Taree, Forster, Gloucester, Stroud and Tea Gardens will reopen. A number of libraries, visitor information centres and the Manning Regional Art Gallery will also open from this date.

"But there will be some changes to the way customer service centres or libraries operate.

"Guards have been put in place to protect both the community and our staff, and hand sanitiser stations will be available in all our public spaces," Mr De Szell said.

"We ask our community to continue to practise social distancing, and not to come into our facilities if they are unwell or have recently been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19."

To further protect the more vulnerable members of the community during the initial stages of transitioning out of the COVID lockdown, Mr De Szell said the difficult decision had been made to delay the return of volunteers to council spaces.

"While some of the outdoor volunteering has continued, we are delaying the return of volunteers to our indoor spaces such as libraries, visitor information centres and the gallery for the time being."

Mr De Szell said this measure was in place to protect the health of the volunteers, many of whom are in the at risk age bracket.

As a result MidCoast Council Library branches in Taree, Forster, Wingham, Harrington, Gloucester, Bulahdelah, Hallidays Point, Stroud and Tea Gardens will open, while branches in Nabiac and Old Bar will remain closed, as they are volunteer run. Initially there will be reduced services in libraries, for example meeting rooms, public computers and newspapers will not be available.

Delaying the return of volunteers will also result in the Manning Regional Art Gallery opening for reduced hours and days in the initial stages.

Visitor information centres in Forster and Gloucester will also open on June 1 to provide support to those visitors expected in the region following the lifting of travel restrictions within NSW.

Venues including the Manning Entertainment Centre and community halls will remain closed at this point in time, as per the requirements of the State Government's COVID-19 Public Health Order.

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