Another Hunter resident has died of COVID-19, bringing the region's death toll since August to 73.
Hunter New England Health reported on Friday that 57 COVID-19 patients were receiving care in the district's hospitals, up from 53 the previous day, and four were in intensive care.
A woman in her seventies from the Singleton local government area was among 31 people to die of the disease in NSW.
The health district recorded 1358 positive tests in the 24 hours to 4pm on Thursday, down from 1636 the previous day.
Only South Western Sydney Local Health District, with 1362, surpassed the Hunter for positive tests.
Across the state, the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 dropped from 2578 to 2494 and ICU numbers remained steady at 160.
The daily count of positive tests was 10,698, down almost 2000 on the day before.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said the drop in hospital admissions was "pleasing".
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the health system was operating "well within capacity".
"It should be very reassuring for people across NSW these numbers today and where we are tracking in relation to hospitalisations and ICU presentations," he said.
The Newcastle Herald reported this week that 13 per cent of the NSW population had caught COVID-19, many of them during the omicron wave.
Dr Chant said there was "clear evidence" the spread of the virus was slowing.
"We know the forces that are pushing down transmission in the community is when people acquire the infection they become immune for around four months," she said.
"If they've got omicron, they're unlikely to be reinfected with omicron for four months. That reduces the risk of ongoing transmission, and the booster rollout is a really key strategy."
Dr Chant said 136 of the 253 COVID-19 deaths in NSW in the past week were in aged care settings.
Fifty-two of those who died in the past seven days were unvaccinated, 146 had received two doses and 46 had received a booster shot.
Of the 31 people whose deaths were reported on Friday, six had diabetes, four were obese, four had cardiac disease, three had significant immunosuppression, two had renal disease, two had obstructive sleep apnoea, one had severe liver disease and one had cancer.
Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said at an industry event on Thursday that bans on singing and dancing likely would end this month.
The organisers of a concert by popular Australian rock band Spacey Jane at University of Newcastle on February 17 said on Friday that the event had been moved to March 23.
The news came a day after the This That festival at Wickham was moved from February 27 to March 12.
Health Minister Sarah Mitchell said 2417 NSW school students had reported positive tests this week but no schools had closed.
In government schools, 617 primary and secondary staff had tested positive on 478 campuses.
In the news
