A man who breached self-isolation to go to The Argyle House last Wednesday, which then became a "super-spreader" event, has been fined $10,000 as cases rose to a high of 633 on Thursday.
The 20-year-old man had been told to self-isolate at a Newcastle home earlier that day after being found to be a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case.
But police said he then went to The Argyle, as well as a home in Adamstown on Saturday, before testing positive to the virus.
Police received information on Monday, and have slapped him with two penalty infringement notices (PINs) totalling $10,000 for failing to comply with a notice direction.
That initial outbreak has now caused COVID-19 testing clinics to be overrun, with health authorities asking Newcastle residents to "seriously consider" deferring social events until after Christmas to protect the vulnerable and essential workers.
Newcastle and Lake Macquarie claimed the vast majority of Hunter New England's 633 cases with more than 200 each, and cases re-emerged in the Upper Hunter after the area went COVID-free for weeks.
The local district made up more than a third of the state's 1742 infections.
As the numbers keep climbing, testing clinic staff have described the testing sites as a "war zone", with workers being forced to turn people away from full clinics and some facing hours of waiting for a test, causing tempers to flare.
With no triage system, staff say genuinely ill people are also being left to wait in line next to people without symptoms who have rushed to get tested because of pressure from employers.
Police have urged the public to be patient while waiting to be tested, and several clinics across the district have extended their hours this week to try and keep up with the demand.
Active cases across the Hunter New England exploded past the 1000 mark on Thursday to 1452, including nine COVID patients who are being cared for in hospital, and two requiring intensive care.
The popular live music spot then announced it would stay closed until after Christmas, similar to The Argyle House.
A second flight from Newcastle to Brisbane on Monday was listed as an exposure site after a passenger tested positive. Passengers in rows 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 on flight QF2426 will be in isolation until after Christmas, while other passengers have been deemed casual contacts.
