Lake Macquarie City Council has approved a $100,000 community grants program for local organisations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayor Kay Fraser put up the mayoral minute at Monday's extraordinary meeting and thanked frontline workers for their "ongoing efforts under these stressful and uncertain conditions".
She said while it was only early days and the full impact of the current outbreak was unknown, it was important for the community to know council was able to provide "rapid assistance as circumstances change".
"It is a tumultuous time for a lot of us," she said. "Our community is being directly impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the latest lockdown restrictions."
The program follows a similar initiative council conducted during last year's coronavirus lockdown.
Councillor Kevin Baker said while the community went through lockdown last year, this one was "harder".
"This is hurting people more," he said. "Businesses, charities, community groups are doing it tougher than ever at the minute."
