Plus, man in Newcastle dies from COVID-19, illegal street racing, and your best pet pics
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Birthday celebration for the whole community | |
| Well, this is one way to celebrate your birthday! Newcastle teen and champion surf lifesaver Jet Hoffman wasn't going to let isolation get in the way of marking his 13th birthday on Easter Sunday.
Jet, younger brother Sunny and father Phil donned budgie smugglers and bunny ears for a birthday run around the neighbourhood. Friends and neighbours waved from a safe distance while the boys handed out Easter eggs, in a celebration that brought the community together. | |
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Man in Newcastle hospital dies from COVID-19 | |
| A 69-year-old man died from COVID-19 in a Newcastle hospital late last week. It's believed the man contracted the virus during a recent trip to Queensland. | |
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Testing increased in hotspot area | |
| Hunter New England Health says it has had a huge response to its call for more people to get tested for COVID-19 symptoms in the east Lake Macquarie region. The push for increased testing followed three cases of COVID-19 in the area with an unknown source of infection.
Public health physician Dr David Durrheim says over the past week there have been an additional 100 people per day attending the drive-through testing clinic at Belmont hospital. He says they are yet to get any positive tests.
"We would encourage folks from those potentially affected suburbs, Mount Hutton, Windale, Croudace Bay, Belmont and Valentine, experiencing symptoms like fever or a cough, to make use of the testing facility this coming week, it'll remain open." | |
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Illegal street racing meet raided | |
| Police will be issuing penalty infringement notices to 19 people caught gathering for an illegal street racing meet west of Newcastle on Saturday.
Highway patrol officers from Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle were called to the Stockrington Conservation Area in Haul Road about 4pm and saw up to 40 vehicles gathered within a closed area. | |
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Working with our best friends? Priceless | |
| One of the best things about working from home is the chance to spend more time with our pets. We asked our Facebook friends to share a photo of their #IsoPets and we got heaps!
This photo was posted by Jane Adamson, featuring her constant shadow Luca, a chocolate lab who photo bombed her coffee break. | |
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What else made news this week? | |
| Monday: Newcastle Police have charged five people for breaching coronavirus restrictions and issued more than 100 fines. A 47-year-old woman was fined $5,000 after mooning the light rail and spitting on a paramedic.
Tuesday: Police have fined a man and woman from Sydney $1,000 each after they were stopped twice trying to fish in Lake Macquarie. The 72-year-old man and 46-year-old woman had been spoken to by police at Dora Creek and warned that fishing was not a valid reason for travel to a regional area. Fifteen minutes later police spotted them at Rocky Point Road, Eraring, where they were fined.
Wednesday: Two teenage boys have been arrested after a wild police chase in Cooks Hill. Police say the pursuit of a black Volvo SUV that was allegedly stolen from Merewether started at about 3.30am Wednesday, but was terminated due to safety concerns. A second pursuit of the car started an hour later and reached speeds of 110 kilometres an hour in a 40 zone. Police say it ended at the intersection of Watt and Darby Streets when the car lost control and hit a tree. Two teenagers aged 14 and 15 were arrested and refused bail.
Thursday: A prison inmate who escaped from a minimum security facility in the Hunter Valley has been arrested and will face court today. Police say the 30-year-old was reported missing from the Cessnock Correctional Centre about 11am on Wednesday. At about 6pm police were told he'd been seen in Cessnock and he was later found on King Street. He was charged with several offences and refused bail. | |
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What people liked on Facebook this week | | After nearly two years on the bottom of the ocean, a shipping container with two $150k Chevrolet pick-up trucks was cracked open this week. The container was one of 82 that went overboard from the ship YM Efficiency in June 2018. Hunter New England Health said yesterday its number of COVID-19 cases had remained stable at 276 for the second consecutive day. The speed limit is set to be reduced on a notorious stretch of road near Singleton. The speed on the New England Highway at Whittingham currently goes from 60 to 100 kilometres per hour when heading towards Maitland, but from next week it will change from 60 to 80 kilometres through to the southern side of Racecourse Lane. Plenty of people have been doing puzzles to pass the time in isolation. Our Facebook friends have shared photos of their works in progress and their completed masterpieces. | |
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| Photo: Lisa Skelton Photography |
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How's the weekend weather looking? | |
| Lisa Skelton Photography snapped this trio having a laugh at Lake Macquarie recently. They'll have more to laugh about in the next couple of days with sunny weather ahead, before possible showers on Sunday. | |
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