A REPRIEVE in pandemic rules gave Hunter families a chance to reconnect with friends in person over the weekend as the region recorded its seventh day without a new coronavirus case.
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Among those making the most of a chance to inch closer to normality over the weekend were Naomi and Lachlan Drysdale. The pair took sons Hamish, 11, Eddie, seven, and James, six to King Edward Park for some exercise, meeting up with a family friend and his children.
Ms Drysdale said meeting up with their friends had been a treat for the kids, who had been out of school "since the whole thing started" and had been largely at home in the weeks since.
She said the family had handled the pandemic measures well so far but appreciated NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's move to allow two adults to visit another household that came into effect on Friday.
"The brothers have playmates built in," she said.
"We've been pretty positive and seen the good side of the whole thing, so it's certainly been a lot of fun.
"They've been missing their sport, but not rushing to everything has been really nice."
Ms Drysdale said she had noticed a change in the air on the weekend but people were largely observing the social distancing guidelines despite the rule relaxation.
"I feel like there are more people out, mostly families," she said.
"I do feel like people are a lot more relaxed, and it's nice catching up."
The statewide changes came into force shortly before Prime Minister Scott Morrison's declaration on Friday that Australians had earned an "early mark" from isolation conditions that had helped staunch the spread of COVID-19.
On Sunday the NSW government further relaxed its limitations, allowing property inspections and auctions to resume from next weekend.
In the Hunter, the streak of no new cases that began last week remains unbroken.
Figures released on Saturday for the Hunter New England Health district showed no new cases or recoveries, leaving the active case tally steady at 46 across the health district.
That included 277 confirmed cases and 231 recoveries by 8pm Friday evening.
Five more cases were added statewide in the same numbers, with more that 232,000 NSW residents testing negative to the condition.
Over the following 24 hours the statewide tally rose by four cases.
No new cases emerged in the Hunter New England by 8pm Saturday night, with the recoveries of another three patients depleting the number of active cases in the health district to 43.
The update means it has been seven days since the Hunter last recorded a new case of coronavirus.
Overall in NSW there have been 3035 cases, 2306 recoveries and 44 lives lost.
Separately, police arrested several teenagers at Motherwell Street in Edgeworth about 12.55am on Saturday. The juveniles were charged with offences including failing to comply with COVID-19 directions.
