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The Green Wattle Creek bushfire hit the village of Balmoral just days before Christmas in 2019.

The fire destroyed bushland and some homes across the 426-person community in the NSW Southern Highlands.

READ ALSO: Almost half of $100 million in bushfire funds spent on lifesaving equipment

More than a year later, one resident who had two close calls with the fire said he felt like the village was "forgotten about" in the middle of recovery.

Mick Duggan's home was threatened on December 21 until firefighters saved it. 

Hours later, Mr Duggan was sheltered in a shed with several others as a fire circled. 

Thankfully, firefighters hosed the shed to protect them, as a water-bombing helicopter assisted from above.

READ ALSO: 'It's heartbreaking still': Bushfire survivors reflect one year on from the Black Summer crisis

This was one of many survival stories, as crews were pushed to their limits as the fire tore through 278,722 hectares in the Southern Highlands and near Wombeyan Caves.

The bushfire claimed the lives of two firefighters, Andrew O'Dwyer and Geoffrey Keaton, when their truck rolled off the road in nearby Buxton on December 19.

As weeks went by, visitors rolled into the village and donations overwhelmed volunteers. But Mr Duggan felt like some of the attention was fleeting.

"We've had people out here in their ties and their suits, getting their photo opportunity and their faces on the TV," he said.

"Outside of that, nothing happens."

READ ALSO: Fire truck engulfed in flames during Green Wattle Creek fire

Mr Duggan said he has not received any official offers of assistance, although his mother has received a council grant.

So far, he has covered the majority of the clean-up costs for his property.

The recovery process in the village is underway, as bushland regenerates and some demountable homes appear.

However, some feel the process is slow and there is more work to do.

READ ALSO: Before and after: One year since horrific Black Summer bushfires

Mick Duggan said Balmoral village needed more assistance during the recovery phase.

"I'm not saying I want someone to walk in my driveway with a fistful of $100 notes," he said.

"I need someone to say to me 'you copped it pretty badly and this is the website you need to go to'.

"I'm just asking for assistance and that's all anyone in this community is asking for."

As the coronavirus pandemic started to dominate the headlines in early 2020, the focus shifted away from bushfire-affected areas.

"We're not on the front page anymore so we're not gossip anymore. We're forgotten about."

Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

There is some evidence that a new coronavirus variant first identified in southeast England carries a higher risk of death than the original strain, the British government's chief scientific adviser said Friday.

Patrick Vallance told a news conference that "there is evidence that there is an increased risk for those who have the new variant" – though he stressed that the data is uncertain.

He said that for a man in his 60s with the original version of the virus, "the average risk is that for 1,000 people who got infected, roughly 10 would be expected to unfortunately die."

READ MORE: What the super strain mutants mean for the world in 2021

"With the new variant, for 1,000 people infected, roughly 13 or 14 people might be expected to die," he said.

But Mr Vallance stressed that "the evidence is not yet strong" and more research is needed.

In contrast to that uncertainty, he said, there is growing confidence that the variant is more easily passed on than the original coronavirus strain. He said it appears to be between 30 per cent and 70 per cent more transmissible.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's technical lead on COVID-19, said studies were underway to look at the transmission and severity of new virus variants.

READ MORE: New rules in force for international arrivals to Australia

READ MORE: UK police break up lockdown-flouting wedding with 400 guests

She said so far "they haven't seen an increase in severity" but that more transmission could lead to "an overburdened health care system" and thus more deaths.

The evidence for the new variant being more deadly is in a paper prepared by a group of scientists that advises the government on new respiratory viruses, based on several studies.

Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia, said "the conclusion about this probable increased lethality comes from analyses made by several different groups, though working with essentially the same data."

"There is quite a bit of difference in the estimated increased risk of death between the different analyses, though most but not all show increased risk of death," he said.

READ MORE: US top doctor describes 'liberated feeling' after Trump's departure

Ian Jones, professor of Virology at the University of Reading, said "the data is limited and the conclusions preliminary. However, an increased case fatality rate is certainly possible with a virus that has upped its game in transmission."

British officials say they are confident that the vaccines that have been authorised for use against COVID-19 will be effective against the new strain identified in the country.

But Vallance said scientists are concerned that variants identified in Brazil and South Africa could be more resistant to vaccines, adding that more research needs to be done.

Concerns about newly identified variants have triggered a spate of new travel restrictions around the world. Many countries have closed their borders to travellers from Britain, and the UK. has halted flights from Brazil and South Africa.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there could be further restrictions.

"We may need to go further to protect our borders," he said.

Britain has recorded 95,981 deaths among people who tested positive for the coronavirus, the highest confirmed total in Europe.

The UK is currently in a lockdown in an attempt to slow the latest surge of the coronavirus outbreak. Pubs, restaurants, entertainment venues and many shops are closed, and people are required to stay largely at home.

The number of new infections has begun to fall, but deaths remain agonisingly high, averaging more than 1,000 a day, and the number of hospitalised patients is 80 per cent higher than at the first peak of the pandemic in the spring.

Mr Johnson, who has often been accused of giving overly optimistic predictions about relaxing coronavirus restrictions, sounded gloomy.

"We will have to live with coronavirus in one way or another for a long while to come," he said, adding that "it's an open question" when measures could be eased.

"At this stage you've got to be very, very cautious indeed," he said.

Vallance agreed saying, "I don't think this virus is going anywhere," he said. "It's going to be around, probably, forever."