A person who attended a Sydney boat party allegedly breached isolation and attended a nightclub sparking a COVID-19 cluster.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard told 2GB that a COVID-positive person from a boat party on Sydney Harbour, which sparked a cluster last week, ignored health advice to self-isolate and attended the Argyle House in Newcastle.

"I believe that person was asked to self-isolate for seven days and that person apparently on the face of it may not have done that and went to a nightclub in Newcastle," Mr Hazzard said.

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Mr Hazzard also confirmed there has been a significant jump in people testing positive for the virus after attending the nightclub on December 8.

"What we do know is that out of the 650 to 680 people, there are now more than 200 patrons positive for COVID-19," he said.

Testing is underway to see if these cases are the Omicron variant.

Only 150 confirmed cases were known this morning.

NSW Health has been asked by Mr Hazzard to refer the person to NSW Police for breaching health orders.

Anyone who went to The Argyle House nightclub from 9pm on Wednesday, December 8 to 3am on December 9 has been deemed a close contact and must immediately get tested, and isolate for seven days.

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They must then minimise mixing with other people and avoid high-risk settings for the next seven days.

NSW Hunter region hospitals introduce restrictions

As a result of the rise of COVID-19 cases in the NSW Hunter region, hospitals will introduce temporary visitor restrictions.

Hospitals across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Lower Hunter will now only allow one visitor per patient per day.

"Exemptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis for compassionate or extenuating circumstances such as those in a critical condition, receiving palliative care or visiting a new sibling," a statement said.

Visitors must be fully vaccinated and will be expected to pass a screening process prior to entry.

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COVID-19 restrictions ease tomorrow

The jump in today's COVID-19 cases will not impact restrictions being rolled back tomorrow, Mr Hazzard confirmed earlier today.

Rules will relax at 12.01am, including for the unvaccinated.

Masks will no longer be required in shops, the two-person per square-metre rule will be axed and the QR check-in will only be used at high-risk venues.

This is despite NSW recording a significant spike in case numbers, with 804 new infections in the past 24 hours.

"We will look at all options as we proceed," Health Minister Brad Hazzard said today.

"But at the moment, our government here in New South Wales is very keen to get us all back to normality, to our previous life.

"But our previous life is best served by people being vaccinated, and going to get the booster."

Mr Hazzard said there are no plans for snap lockdowns and the date unvaccinated people are allowed to rejoin society would not be delayed.

"Our government in New South Wales has led the country. We're not going to start backflipping on issues we promised the community we'll do," he said.

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Omicron cases rise

A total of 85 cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 have now been recorded in NSW.

However, NSW Health expects further Omicron cases to be identified in the coming days as results of genomic testing are confirmed.

One further death has been recorded in the state overnight, while 168 people are in hospital with the virus.

Of those, 21 are in an intensive care unit.

Health authorities have expressed concerns a potential Omicron outbreak could have begun in Newcastle, following positive cases from a popular nightclub and pub.

Authorities said it was "likely" a number of these cases — and some from nearby Finnegan's Hotel a few days later — are the new Omicron variant, with the results of genomic testing still to come.

Anyone who was at Finnegan's Hotel from 6.30pm on Friday, December 10 to 2.30am on December 11 is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for seven days.

All household contacts of close contacts must also be tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received by everyone in the household.

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https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1470513957769121795?s=20

Some virus experts are worried COVID cases in Sydney could surpass 1000 cases per day in just weeks as NSW prepares to scrap almost all remaining restrictions.

Underlining the recent rise in cases, health authorities here in NSW have sent out 1.9 million COVID alerts in just the last two weeks.

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A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake struck 112km north of Maumere, on Indonesia's Flores Island.

The USGS said the quake struck at a depth of 18.5kms in the Flores Sea at 10.20am local time.

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Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said, "hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1000kms of the earthquake epicentre".

There is no tsunami threat to Australia.

The head of Indonesia's Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati, later confirmed a tsunami warning had ended.

She said 15 aftershocks have been reported so far, the strongest of which was 5.6 magnitude.

Those living on the northern coastline should move to a higher place if they feel a strong tremor lasting more than 10 seconds, Ms Dwikorita said.

Romanus Woga, Deputy Head of Sikka Regency, the district located closest to the earthquake epicenter, told CNN he felt four or five big shakes that prompted people in Maumere city to run out of their homes.

He said people living close to the coastal areas had fled to higher ground.

Mr Woga, who is driving around the city to check the situation there, said no buildings or houses had been noticeably damaged so far.

Maumere is the capital city of Sikka and the second-largest town on Flores with a population of about 90,000 people. Indonesia sits on the "Ring of Fire," a band around the Pacific Ocean that sets off frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.

One of the most seismically active zones on the planet, it stretches from Japan and Indonesia on one side of the Pacific all the way across to California and South America on the other.

In December 1992, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit Flores Island, killing more than 2,000 people.

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Former NRL player Brett Finch has been charged over the alleged transmission of child abuse material.

This morning, NSW Police attended a home in Sans Souci, in Sydney's south, and during a search found and seized a mobile phone for further forensic examination.

Finch, 40, was arrested and charged with five counts of using a carriage service to transmit publish or promote abusive material.

He is one of eight men charged as part of Strike Force Hank, which was established by the Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU).

The strikeforce is probing an adult telephone chat service used by a number of men to allegedly arrange the dissemination of child abuse material and discuss the sexual abuse of children.

Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty, Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad Commander, said the investigation had uncovered alleged chat participants who were aggressive in their pursuit of child sex offending.

"We will allege that each of the men arrested by detectives over the past month expressed desires to engage in sexual activity with children, and in some cases, attempted to access child abuse material from other users of the service," Detective Superintendent Doherty said.

"Producing, disseminating or possessing child abuse material are serious offences, and detectives will continue to dismantle these types of operations, so children are free from harmful situations, exploitation, and abuse."

Finch was granted conditional bail to appear at Sutherland Local Court on January 11.

He played 270 NRL games across four clubs and three State of Origin games for NSW.

Investigations under Strike Force Hank continue.

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Australia could become one of the hottest places in the world this week, with temperatures potentially soaring to 50C in the outback.

The nation's highest official temperature on record for December clocked in at 49.9C at Nullarbor in South Australia in 2019, Weatherzone said.

This heatwave is being fuelled by an "exceptionally hot air mass" and a lack of cloud cover.

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Hot air will build over central Australia during the next several days, peaking at the end of the week as it drifts north-west.

"Severe to Extreme" heatwave conditions will be felt across a large area of central and northern Australia this week.

The hottest temperatures are expected over the Pilbara, Kimberley and North Interior districts of Western Australia, with a chance of 50C being hit.

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A highs of 41C is predicted for Alice Springs every day between now and Saturday, Weatherzone said.

This is 4 – 6C above average for this time of year.

An investigation is underway in New Zealand after a woman was given a COVID-19 vaccination with a needle that had already been used on another person.

The incident happened at a Christchurch Hospital vaccination clinic on Friday afternoon.

Speaking anonymously, the husband of the woman who was injected with the used needle told Stuff his wife was really stressed about the incident.

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The woman is a health board employee and was receiving her third booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the time, the man said.

He described what happened as "really concerning".

The Canterbury District Health Board said a "comprehensive investigation" into how the mistake occurred was now underway.

The health board's senior responsible officer for COVID-19 response, Dr Helen Skinner, said in a statement the board had apologised to both people who were injected with the needle.

Blood samples had since been taken from both people.

The woman's husband said results came through on Tuesday afternoon and showed everything was normal.

Dr Skinner said the health board was doing everything it could to support those involved, including the vaccinator and both people who were injected.

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The board would implement any improvements to its systems that would reduce the chance of a similar incident happening again.

Dr Skinner said the affected woman was told immediately when staff realised what had happened.

"We will continue to communicate with the person injected with a pre-used needle, supporting them and sharing any new information we receive."