A Lake Macquarie man has been charged for a second time after his fourth alleged breach of COVID-19 public health orders in little more than a week.
Alfred James Bell, 59, was initially charged and granted conditional bail by police last Thursday after he allegedly flouted restrictions applying to regional NSW three times in four days.
The alleged breaches included a trip to various locations in Greater Sydney, which the Gateshead man made without a reasonable excuse.
Police told him he was classified as an affected person and had to remain at home, but he was reported later in the week for being at a Charlestown shop - where he was dobbed-in after allegedly verbally abusing staff.
Police on Tuesday received another report that Mr Bell had returned to the store.
The Newcastle Herald understands he told police when questioned at his home that he had been grocery shopping, but he was unable to produce the items he had bought.
Mr Bell faced Belmont Local Court on Wednesday, where Magistrate Caleb Franklin refused his application for bail.
He will face court again on August 4.
Meanwhile, Port Stephens Water Police fined a man who was staying on a boat moored on the Karuah River on Tuesday.
The man, from the Sydney suburb of Picton, had been stopped by police on Sunday and fined after he told officers he was on his way to stay on his boat up the coast.
The man was fined a second time on Tuesday and again told to return to Sydney.
It came after officers were called to a caravan dealership at Heatherbrae earlier on Tuesday, where they found a Central Coast man who told officers he had traveled to pick up a new caravan.
Police did not deem that to be a reasonable excuse for leaving the Greater Sydney lockdown zone and fined the 35-year-old $1000.
Across the state, police handed out 212 fines for breaches of the public health orders in the 24 hours to 7am on Wednesday - up from 160 the previous day.
Eighty of the fines issued from Tuesday into Wednesday were for people not wearing face masks where they were required to do so.
Police also charged 19 people for allegedly failing to comply with the orders.
Lake Macquarie Police District commander Superintendent Danny Sullivan said police were pleased that most people in the community were doing the right things in terms of wearing masks where appropriate, using the state government's COVID-19 check-in system and reporting breaches through Crime Stoppers.
"Unfortunately, there's a small number of people who just don't get it," Superintendent Sullivan said.
"We can assure the local community that we have an operation going on here where we're out enforcing compliance and making sure that when we detect someone doing the wrong thing, they're infringed and appropriately brought before the courts."
