THIS time last year, Ron Mansfield and his wife, Maureen, were packing their bags for a cruise to New Zealand.
They had been on plenty of these trips before. They had been around Australia, to Fiji, and on two previous cruises to New Zealand.
But when they arrived at Sydney's Circular Quay at 10am to board the Ruby Princess on March 8, 2020, things were a little different.
"Usually we get off the train and hop straight on the boat," Mr Mansfield said.
"This time we walked to the boat and there was hundreds of people there just milling around. We weren't allowed on the boat until five in the afternoon because they were 'cleaning it'.
"That was the first time they've ever really done it on our trips, and we've been on quite a few."
A day after their ship's departure - on March 9, 2020 - the Hunter had its first confirmed case of COVID-19.
The news broke late that evening when NSW Health confirmed a Hunter man in his 70s, recently returned from Italy, was in the care of Hunter New England Health.
About a fortnight later, back at home but without any symptoms of the virus, Mr Mansfield collapsed. Like more than 600 others linked to the cruise ship, Mr Mansfield had COVID-19.
"It was the day after we got back," his wife, Maureen Hoffman, said. "We'd come home about four days early from the cruise, because of the virus. We'd just finished our coffee, and Ron got up to do something and he just went down like a bag of sugar.
"I couldn't wake him up. So I rang Triple 0.
"The ambulance came and I told them, 'We were on the Ruby'. With that, they took off and got dressed in all the gear. They had the siren on all the way to John Hunter.
"I was frightened."
For 30 days, Mr Mansfield was in the F2 respiratory ward - the designated COVID-19 ward - at the John Hunter Hospital.
Mr Mansfield, now 85, doesn't remember much. But when he went in, he weighed 112 kilograms.
Now, he weighs 79.9. The effects of the virus still linger.
"I was really sick," he said.
"I guess you could call it a private room. There were two doors to get in, two doors to get out. I just don't know what happened. All I know was that I was in hospital for 30 days. And I was the first one to walk out alive."
When Mr Mansfield was released from hospital, doctors, nurses and admin staff lined the corridor to ring a bell and clap and cheer as he walked out in what was a joyous celebration of survival.
"I was flabbergasted," Mr Mansfield said. "I didn't know what to say."
Mrs Hoffman had not seen him since he was whisked away in the ambulance.
She had been in isolation at home. She said she couldn't have gotten through that time without the companionship of their dogs.
"The hospital was letting me know how he was getting on," she said. "And the nurses were taking his phone and sending me messages for him. They sent me pictures too. I didn't like what I saw. He had more tubes coming out of him than a spaceman. I couldn't eat, I was just plain scared."
I guess you could call it a private room. There were two doors to get in, two doors to get out. I just don't know what happened. All I know was that I was in hospital for 30 days. And I was the first one to walk out alive.
Ron Mansfield, 85, contracted COVID-19 on the Ruby Princess
Mrs Hoffman, who has a chronic lung condition and was perhaps at greater risk of serious illness, said she had somehow escaped getting the virus.
She'd had her right hand in a bandage and a sling, and was on antibiotics for a wound when they boarded the ship. But she also didn't eat much on board.
"I think he got it from the canteen," she said.
"I don't like to eat things if they are touching, I like things to be separated, so I didn't eat much."
Now, a year on from the Hunter's first confirmed case of COVID-19, hand sanitiser is stationed out the front of every shop, cafe and club.
There are spots on the floor to indicate safe distances to stand, masks are not a rare sight, and wipes are available to sanitise baskets and trolleys on entry to supermarkets.
Mr Mansfield said he thinks some of the changes brought about by the pandemic have been a "good thing".
"I think the sanitiser could save us all a hell of a lot of problems," he said. "I'm very wary now. I'm always very wary. I haven't had a cold. And I don't know what's going to happen if I do get a cold. I hope I don't find out. I'm up and down a lot now. I seem to get out of breath easily.
"Some days I just don't want to do anything, I just sit around. I'm tired. No energy.
"I'd say 75 per cent of the time I'm down.
"And I sway a bit now. My balance is off and I have to use a walker. I have a heart problem now. This is all new since I had COVID."
Mr Mansfield said he also had a mild stroke while in hospital.
"This has taught me to slow down. Everything is slower now. I can't do anything but slow down," he said.
The change in his balance had also led to a fall, leaving him with a broken wrist.
"It has been a terrible, bloody awful year," Mrs Hoffman said.
In the days and weeks leading up to the Hunter's first COVID-19 case, rumours and speculation shifted from "if" the virus would reach our shores to "when".
Since then, there have been 317 cases of COVID-19 in the district, but none since August.
Hunter New England Health has treated 70 patients for COVID-19 in its hospitals, with four requiring care in intensive care.
Testing for the virus spiked in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie in August, after confirmed cases were noted to have visited several local establishments that were considered a "high risk area" for possible transmission.
In Newcastle, 23,632 were tested in August, and just over 22,000 tests were done in Lake Macquarie.
In the Hunter alone - including Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland and Port Stephens local government areas - there have been almost 360,000 tests conducted for the virus. There have been two deaths.
Mrs Hoffman said she hoped people continued to look after themselves.
"This virus is like a rat that gets into your body and attacks the weakest parts," she said. "It's dreadful. It's not just like the flu. People need to take it seriously because even with this vaccine, it's going to be around for a while yet.
