City of Newcastle says it will push ahead with its New Year's Eve fireworks display despite the latest COVID-19 outbreak.
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Hunter New England Health reported 820 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, including 326 in Newcastle local government area.
Newcastle has been at the centre of the NSW omicron breakout in the past fortnight and has recorded 2212 cases in the past seven days.
More than 1.3 per cent of the city's population has caught COVID-19 in the past week.
City of Newcastle said on Tuesday that it still planned to stage the harbour fireworks display, which drew 30,000 people to the foreshore in 2019.
Chief executive Jeremy Bath said the council would review the event "should the local COVID situation significantly escalate".
"We have been working with Hunter New England Health and local police on measures to limit crowds and ensure it complies with public health orders," he said.
The council-run New Year's Eve celebration includes DJs, roving entertainers, market stalls, food vendors and amusement rides along Wharf Road, capped off by the fireworks display at 9pm.
The council cancelled the event last year due to concerns about spreading the coronavirus.
Lake Macquarie City Council does not stage New Year's Eve fireworks but sponsors and promotes a display run by Wangi Wangi RSL Club.
Club treasurer Bob Porter said the display would go ahead unless the weather intervened.
"We don't expect COVID restrictions," he said.
"It doesn't look like they're going to come into too much effect so we're still planning to go ahead at this stage."
City of Sydney has not cancelled its December 31 fireworks on Sydney harbour.
HNEH data show how testing rates exploded last week in the Lower Hunter as omicron spread.
A total of 14,334 people were tested in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie on Thursday, up from 1568 a week earlier.
On the same day, 3919 were tested in Maitland (up from 441), 2031 in Port Stephens (up from 201) and 1071 in Cessnock (up from 161).
NSW reported a record 3057 new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday that lockdowns were a thing of the past, but many people in the Hunter are avoiding crowded settings and cancelling pre-Christmas gatherings at pubs and restaurants anyway.
The ACT became the latest jurisdiction to reimpose mask mandates for indoor settings on Tuesday, but NSW has resisted the move.
Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid urged the state and federal governments to adopt a unified plan to tackle omicron.
Dr Korshid said the variant would put hospitals under "enormous pressure" in coming weeks as case numbers exploded.
Of the new HNEH cases, 254 were in Lake Macquarie, 133 in Maitland, 48 in Port Stephens, 26 in Cessnock, seven in Singleton and seven in Muswellbrook.
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