Police will today serve the 52 year old man who visited Byron Bay and other local areas recently, with a Future Court Attendance Notice for breaching public health orders.

Following police inquiries, including appeals for public assistance, the man from Rose Bay in Sydney will be charged after he allegedly travelled from Sydney to the Northern

Rivers region, without a reasonable excuse and in contravention of the public health orders.

The Notice will be served on the man at the Lismore Base Hospital with strict bail conditions.

He will appear at Lismore Local Court on Monday, September 13 and police inquiries are ongoing.

Police will also allege the man failed to check-in to several venues using either a QR-code through Service NSW or through a written register at premises in Byron Bay and Bangalow.

The Future Court Attendance Notice lists seven offences including:

• Not comply with noticed direction re s 7/8/9 - COVID-19 (x3)
• Fail to comply with electronic registration directive (x4)

Lockdown

The charge comes after the Northern Rivers region was plunged into a lockdown on Monday when the man tested positive for Covid 19, after becoming unwell.

He was admitted to Lismore Base Hospital while police investigated where the man had visited during his travels in the region.

He was also travelling with two teenagers, who also tested positive for Covid 19.

Because of the man's alleged failure to Covid check in at any of the venues, a quick contact-tracing response by authorities was delayed.

It is also believed that the man was visiting the region to look at real estate properties - in effect taking advantage of a potential loophole in the Covid restrictions which allow a person to look at real estate.

NSW cases

In a press conference this morning, the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was asked about the Byron Bay case and what could be done if it was found he had broken the Covid restriction regulations.

“If people step well beyond the orders, there are a range of things the police can investigate in terms of whether that journey was reasonable – such as the timeliness of it,” she said.

“We can we beef up fines if people intentionally travel against the orders.

“The minimum penalty is $1000, or it can go before the courts and police will look at the best outcome and what the community expects should happen."

Chief health minister Dr Kerry Chant said there were 344 new Covid cases overnight in NSW, and two deaths in hospital – a man in his 30s and one in his 90s.

“There were 40 new cases overnight in the Hunter region and it looks like it won’t come out of lockdown later this week,” Dr Chant said.

Dubbo in lockdown

Dr Chant said Dubbo also goes into one week lockdown from 1pm today, after two cases were reported last night.

Dr Chant reiterated the importance of vaccinations in the effort to return to “life as usual” in NSW – with six million jabs to be delivered by end of August.

“We are expected to hit a 70% vaccination rate by the end October,” she said.

“Then life gets more back to normal and freedoms we had before covid will come back into place,” she said.

“We are working to get more popup vax clinics – it is a priority for us."

Of the new locally acquired cases overnight, 62 cases are in ICU and only 19 of them are aged over 70 years old.

Dr Chant said 57 of the cases were not vaccinated and 5 received only one dose of the vaccine.

“There is noone in ICU who has received two doses of the vaccine,” she said.

“Even one dose provides protection.”