TWO Hunter schools have closed immediately after positive COVID tests for members of the school communities.
It comes as Choice Pharmacy at Cameron Park was named an exposure site on Friday afternoon.
The exposure window was on Friday 10 September between 2.45pm and 2.55pm, and anyone who attended is urged to get tested and isolate until they get a negative result.
The NSW Department of Education issued statements on Friday confirming Mount Hutton Public School and West Wallsend Public School had closed for cleaning and contact tracing.
All staff and students have been asked to self-isolate in line with the health advice.
"Parents and carers are asked to please collect their children," the department said.
"Supervision will continue to be provided until all students are collected."
Both schools' out of school care (OOSH) will also be non-operational.
Stay-at-home orders are back for the Hilltops Local Government Area, the Murrumbidgee Local Health District confirmed, while in the state's northern tablelands, Glen Innes suffered the same fate.
The seven-day lockdown was announced early Friday afternoon.
It comes after the local government regions of Albury and Lismore suffered the same fate earlier this week.
Two people from the same family in Glen Innes tested positive to COVID-19, and at least one was active in the community during their infectious period on September 14 and 15.
NSW Health has asked anyone who has been unwell or develops symptoms including a fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, loss of smell/taste, muscle/joint pains, diarrhoea, nausea/vomiting or extreme tiredness to seek testing.
The Hunter recorded 24 confirmed cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday, as well as the death of a man in his 60s at the John Hunter Hospital.
Hunter New England Health's public health physician Dr David Durrheim said that it was essential that people took precautions in the days to come.
"With the cases we've seen that many of them from our interviews have been quite active in the community while infectious," he said.
"With the prospect of a warm weekend ... we really need to be careful. The person who is walking alongside of us along the beach walk may have COVID, the person who we cross paths with at the supermarket may have COVID.
"Let's use those simple measures that kept us safe for so long, particularly this weekend. Keep your distance from others, make sure you wear your mask at all times."
