More than 100 fines were handed out for COVID-19 public health order breaches in the Hunter's four police command areas in the 24 hours up to the beginning of a statewide crackdown.
In one case, six people were fined $1000 each for having a barbecue in the driveway of a Beresfield home on Sunday afternoon.
Police were called to the Pasedena Crescent home about 3.30pm after they received reports of a "street party" and arrived at the scene to find a group of adults and children gathered in front of a home.
Officers spoke to the resident, a 58-year-old woman, and fined her along with three other women and two men for breaking COVID-19 public health orders.
In the 24-hours to midnight on Sunday, police issued 41 fines for breaches in the Port Stephens-Hunter Police District, which stretches from Nelson Bay to Maitland.
They handed out 36 fines in the Hunter Valley Police District, which takes in the Cessnock, Singleton, Muswellbrook and Scone areas, while 34 were issued at Lake Macquarie and 32 in Newcastle.
It came on the final day before police across the state, with the help of the Australian Defence Force, launched Operation Stay At Home to target people breaking the coronavirus public health orders put place to combat the latest outbreak.
A range of tighter restrictions, including a 5km-from-home limit for anyone who leaves their local government area, have been introduced along with increased fines.
Anyone breaching self-isolation rules will face a $5000 on-the-spot fine, as will people lying on a permit to get into regional NSW or being untruthful with a NSW Health contact tracer.
On-the-spot fines of $3000 will be issued to anyone breaching the two-person outdoor exercise rule as well as people breaching the ban on entering regional NSW for anything other than an authorised reason.
A full list of the current orders are available on the NSW government's website.
NSW Police Northern Region commander Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said on Monday that police were preparing to establish checkpoints and had been stopping between 500 and 800 vehicles a day recently - on arterial routes as well as back roads.
"We want you to stay within your LGA [local government area], but if you have to leave for an essential reason, it has to be 5km from your front door," he said.
"The reason we need people to stay in their LGA is because if there is an outbreak, we contain it to an LGA.
"It is that much easier for the contact tracers, then, to get on top of it. If you're leaving your LGA where you don't have to or it's not essential, you're putting the whole state at risk."
Assistant Commissioner McKenna said it was "unbelievable" that reports of gatherings and parties in the Hunter continued, despite the state being in lockdown.
"Ignorance is no longer an excuse. No-one can say they're not informed," he said.
"The chances are, you will get caught if you do the wrong thing."
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