Christmas Day for many has been reduced to spending it on their own, or if they're lucky, with their direct family members or the people they live with.

Charmaine Sorrenson, 33, and her two children Emma, seven, and Eli, five, have been in isolation since Monday and will not emerge from lockdown until the new year.

Ms Sorrenson contracted the virus after visiting a hotel.

"I actually went into a bit of a panic, I've got an auto-immune disorder so mind instantly went ... this could potentially be really bad," she said. "But then I realised I couldn't give the kids to anyone because they were a close contact and I was advised they had to stay with me. So I knew, obviously, they were going to get it."

Ms Sorrenson said it had been a stressful time, but the family had been "very lucky" and only had mild symptoms. She said "missing out on the family side" of Christmas was going to be hard, but she would try to make the most of it at home.

"We've been Face Timing just about anyone who will take our call," she said. "The kids have got the iPad so they try and Face Time their friends whenever they can. Just try to stay in contact with everyone as best we can, keep their spirits high."

The children were due to spend a week at their grandparents from Boxing Day, but that - and the grandparents' visit - has been scrapped.

Always one to leave her Christmas shopping late, Ms Sorrenson said she had recruited friends to purchase presents for her children and groceries for the family.

"I've just been utilising friends who are going to the shops and saying, 'can you get this, can you get that'," she said. "I'm unfortunately a week-off shopper so I had zero done. I've just screenshotted things to my friends I had planned to get for the kids and they've gone and got it."

Former Knights player Mark Hughes has had to alter his family's Christmas plans after his wife Kirralee tested positive earlier this week.

Despite as of Thursday having not tested positive himself, Hughes said he had symptoms and was isolating.

"Like all families you plan on getting together; heading out my wife's family and my family during the day out in the Hunter Valley ... but they've been changed like a lot of other families," he said.

"But we'll get on with it. Christmas is a special time, but with everything going on this is what a lot of families are going through. I imagine there are people isolating that haven't got anyone, but at least we can be together here. There is certainly people in a lot worse positions than us, but it is disappointing not being able to have a normal Christmas Day."

Hunter New England Health said it was difficult to determine how many people would be isolating on Christmas Day. The number of active cases in the health district grew to 6507 on Thursday, after 967 people tested positive the day prior.

The vast majority of cases were in the Lower Hunter, particularly in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.

Many of those who tested positive in the first week of the Newcastle outbreak are due to emerge from lockdown today or tomorrow.

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