Hospitals in the health district are treating 17 patients for COVID-19, four of whom are in intensive care, as 60 new cases emerged across 10 local government areas overnight.
The Newcastle local government area reported three new cases, with one at Lake Macquarie, five at Port Stephens, four at Cessnock, one at Maitland, and 14 from within the MidCoast local government area.
Fifteen new cases have been reported in the Moree Plains local government area, in the North West region of the state, accounting for the bulk of new cases reported overnight. Double-dose vaccination coverage has reached only 79 per cent in the local government area - the lowest in the health district.
Meanwhile, there were six new cases from Inverell, a further six from Tamworth, and five from the Armidale Regional LGA.
Oxley Vale Public School at Tamworth, Ross Hill Public School at Inverell, and Tingha Public School at Tingha remain non-operational in the New England and North West regions, after positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in the respective school communities.
Of the new cases, reported to 8pm Wednesday, 37 have been linked to known transmissions, while 19 are unlined and four remain under investigation. 24 cases were said to be infectious in the community, while 32 were isolating during their infectious period, Hunter New England Health has said.
The local health district update follows reports of 261 new cases across the state, and on death overnight, as NSW reaches 90.4 per cent full vaccination coverage.
