NSW Police were appalled by the attitudes of some during the coronavirus pandemic after 19 vehicles were caught during an illegal street-racing "meet" west of Newcastle.
Highway patrol units were called to the Stockrington Conservation Area in Haul Road about 4pm on Saturday where they saw up to 40 vehicles within a closed area.
Nineteen of the vehicles were issued fines for breaching the Public Health Order while the rest escaped into surrounding bushland.
Three children were found with the adults, one aged nine years and two aged 18 months.
Traffic and Highway Patrol Command's Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy said the illegal event was exactly the kind of incident his officers had been working to prevent.
"Gatherings of virtually any kind are breaching the current public health order, but gathering to conduct street racing and burnouts in a park is illegal, irresponsible and beyond my understanding," Assistant Commissioner Corboy said in a statement on Sunday.
"We have identified 19 people who will be getting infringement notices, and we will be working to identify the other drivers who fled."
NSW is closing in on a week without the new daily coronavirus infections exceeding 50, but health authorities warn there is still a long way to go.
The state has been testing more than 4000 people a day but last recorded more than 50 cases within 24 hours on April 5.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerri Chant said Australians should be "incredibly pleased" with the latest results but warned "this is going to be a long journey".
"It has bought us time to reflect how we are going to navigate the journey ahead," she said on Saturday.
Just 139 people have caught the virus locally in the past week, taking known community transmissions to 1055 in NSW.
"We are currently seeing low rates of suppressed transmission in the community, and that's pleasing," she said.
"But, in the end, we have to look at when the vaccine will be available, how we will navigate our role through that, what is the optimal settings.
"We are currently considering the position in relation to schools for term two."
Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged the state's 7.5 million people to all assume they have the virus and avoid gathering outside their household for Easter or Passover.
The coronavirus death toll in NSW rose to 23 on Saturday, after a 91-year-old woman died.
The source of her infection remains unknown.
More than 200 COVID-19 patients are in NSW hospitals and about 30 in intensive care.
