The coastal region was already on alert after Wednesday's announcement of "very high viral loads" at the Burwood and Shortland wastewater treatment plants, along with lower levels at Belmont.

Queues into supermarkets began as soon as Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the lockdown at her 11am press conference.

NSW had a record 262 cases, with the Hunter contributing five - all apparently connected to a Blacksmiths beach gathering last Friday night.

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It escaped nobody's attention that the official return of the virus to the Hunter followed the loss of some 5000 Pfizer vaccines as part of a redistribution of some 40,000 doses from regional NSW to help inoculate Sydney HSC students.

Yes, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pledged 185,000 Pfizer shots to NSW across next week, but the vaccine round-robin is simply another sign of Canberra's vaccination stuff-ups.

Until now, we in the Hunter have been spectators - more or less - as the Delta variant emerged in February to sweep the globe and smash any hope of the pandemic ending this year.

But with Delta embedded in NSW, our uncomfortably low vaccination rates mean we must make the lockdowns, the mask-wearing, the handwashing, the tests and the social distancing work extremely well if we are to avoid the corona-chaos inflicted on other countries hit by this ultra-contagious strain of COVID.

Lockdowns are unpleasant.

They have a human cost, as well as the obvious economic damage.

The negative impacts of coronavirus policies have triggered protests around the world, and the pandemic has supercharged an already heated debate about the limits of free speech.

Ultimately, though, most Australians accept their governments moving to something akin to a war footing to fight COVID.

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They accept that a previously unknown virus that leaves some recipients untouched and others dead is a lethal threat as unacceptable as it is unpredictable.

With more than 4.2 million deaths in 20 months, COVID is not "just like the flu".

To fight it, we need to mask up and hunker down with the grit and determination the Hunter region is known for.

In following the rules, the life your neighbour saves might be your own.

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