Hospitalisations due to COVID-19 have spiked in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven with daily cases in the region surging beyond 1,000.
On Wednesday, 1,496 new infections were confirmed across the local health district (LHD) in the latest reporting period as 35,054 people tested positive across the state.
The majority of the local cases were from the Wollongong local government area (LGA) where 837 people had contracted the virus.
There were 327 new cases from the Shellharbour LGA, 254 in the Shoalhaven, and 78 in the Kiama area.
Hospitalisations were at their highest level since the beginning of the Omicron outbreak with 38 people being treated at the Wollongong and Shoalhaven hospitals, up from 23 the previous day.
One person is in intensive care.
"Strategies are in place for the safe transition of COVID positive patients into emergency departments.
"Recently Wollongong Hospital added a clinical area outside its emergency department to further help manage presentations."
Ongoing wait for tests
Ms Mains said many frontline staff had been furloughed temporarily after being impacted by the heightened transmission of the virus in the community.
She said timely access to PCR tests results "remained a challenge" but staff were working around the clock to meet the demand.
"To help us better manage their workload we ask the community to please only use the emergency department for an emergency," Ms Mains said.
"I want to assure the community that every available resource within our LHD is currently being utilised in this latest response."
On Tuesday, dozens of residents who lined up for a booster shot at the mass vaccination centre in Wollongong were turned away due to a shortage of staff.
The hub in Crown Street Mall has the capacity to administer 2,400 shots a day and was working through 200 bookings per hour.
The booster jabs are also available through the local GP network and at pharmacists.
