A man has been fined $10,000 after allegedly breaching a self-isolation direction in the Newcastle area.
NSW Health had alerted police on Monday with information about a 20-year-old man who had been directed to isolate at a Newcastle property from Wednesday, December 8, as he was a close contact of a positive case of COVID-19.
Officers were led to understand the man subsequently attended a licensed premises on Wharf Road later that evening, and also attended a private residence in Adamstown on Saturday, December 11. He has since returned a positive test to COVID-19 and is self-isolating, police said.
Following inquiries, the man was issued with two penalty infringement notices totalling $10,000 for the alleged offence.
It comes as Hunter New England Health reported 633 new COVID cases, from the state's total of 1742, on Thursday morning. It represents a rise of 200 new cases in the district for the second consecutive day as health officials urged residents to "seriously consider deferring any social events in Newcastle until after Christmas in order to help keep family Christmas gatherings safe, and to help protect their loved ones, the vulnerable and our essential workers".
Hunter New England Health reported the highest numbers of new cases on Thursday, more than doubling the count of the South Eastern Sydney health district which reported the state's second largest outbreak with 231 new cases.
Police inquiries were continuing Thursday afternoon.
