JUST shy of 1000 new COVID-19 cases have been identified in the Hunter New England region in the past 24 hours.
NSW Health confirmed there were 976 cases in the health district, the second-highest number in the state.
There are 6507 active cases in the region, with 14 and hospital and two requiring intensive care.
Most of the cases, which come precisely two weeks after the super-spreader event linked to The Argyle House, fell within Newcastle.
The city had 338 cases, with 316 in Lake Macquarie.
Maitland added 142, Port Stephens had 61, Cessnock notched 42 and Midcoast had 20.
Singleton and Tamworth had 10 cases each, with nine at Moree Plains and eight in Muswellbrook.
Upper Hunter had six and Dungog five while individual cases emerged in Narrabri, Liverpool Plains, Armidale and Uralla.
Dr Jeremy McAnulty urged people to steer clear of crowds if feeling unwell, and to consider a rapid antigen test if heading to crowded areas.
Despite the absence of mandated mask-wearing, he said it was an important pillar of the state's efforts to stymie the virus' spread.
"NSW Health continues to rely on people to practice COVID-safe behaviours including wearing a mask in settings where you can't physically distance," he said.
"Almost a quarter of people who end up getting COVID ... do so after the first seven days after exposure."
NSW added a new daily record of 5715 cases in Thursday's update off the back of more than 160,000 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday.
South Eastern Sydney's 1186 cases was the state's highest tally for a health district on Thursday.
One death was recorded in Sydney while across the state 347 people with the virus are in hospital, with 45 in intensive care.
