The young play hard even in a pandemic ... where to from here?

The man in question, who was later confirmed as a positive COVID-19 case, had visited two popular Newcastle pubs on Saturday.

From all reports, the Queens Wharf Hotel between 9.30pm and 11pm on Saturday, followed by Beaumont Street's Sydney Junction Hotel from midnight to 1.30am

Next day he went to Wests New Lambton's Hopsmiths Bar for a couple of hours before heading to McDonald Jones Stadium to watch the Jets play. And he'd also visited Sushi Revolution at Hamilton between noon and 1pm on Saturday, presumably for a healthy lunch knowing what was to come.

Not exactly a pub crawl, but a pretty solid weekend however you look at it.

Back in my day after two days of pubbing we weren't heading to the football, we were heading for the nearest doner kebab shop - 'the lot with chilli sauce please' - then home for a sleep. Footnote: it was also acceptable to opt for pizza if there was no kebab shop handy.

But times have changed.

What this shows is that young people don't just play harder these days, but that requests to curb their social activities aren't registering. A restaurant, three pubs and the footy.

It's hard to think that right through all that he was adhering to the 1.5 metre social distancing requirement.

Let's face it, he couldn't have come in contact with more people if he'd stood in the middle of Kings Street at peak hour and high-fived the drivers in both directions.

His behaviour was self-indulgent, no doubt, but it wasn't illegal. He was within his rights to do it. And that's the problem.

The young don't want to stop socialising, and as long as Premier Gladys Berejiklian 'strongly advises' they show restraint, the longer it will go on.

'Strongly advises' means they have a choice.

That was the message from Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery earlier this week when she said the Premier's directions needed to be stronger, and that Sydney travellers should be banned from the region, full stop.

On a purely health basis, she's spot on.

This thing re-emerged in Melbourne, migrated to western Sydney, then multiple spots across Sydney, then on to Newcastle. And we're now talking multiple spots in Newcastle.

The noose is tightening and we can all feel it.

The problem is, of course, the moment you shut down Sydney travellers you basically bring Port Stephens and the vineyards to a grinding halt. Newcastle would suffer, as would Maitland and then the ripple effects kick in.

That's thousands more people out of work and an even greater hit on the local economy.

Tough decisions for sure. Especially when you look at the flogging Victorian premier Dan Andrews is experiencing at the moment.

After reading of this COVID-positive man's weekend, it made me realise how embarrassed I'd be to catch it.

Where have you been in the last fortnight?

"I went to the Post Office to pick up a parcel last week, put some petrol in the car, and picked up a takeaway."

What else?

"Nothing."

I can picture my gravestone now: "Here lies a very dull man".