The state government says it will fast-track expanding John Hunter Hospital's emergency department to help cope with the COVID-19 outbreak.
Upper House MP Catherine Cusack said work would start next week on adding another 12 beds to the hospital's emergency department, an increase of 40 per cent.
The project would take about two months to complete and include a procedure room.
NSW Health reported no new cases of coronavirus infection in the Hunter New England Health district on Wednesday. The total case count fell by two to 278 after health authorities revised two previous cases.
HNEH chief Michael DiRienzo, said the expedited work at the John Hunter would not disrupt the existing emergency department.
"The additional beds and procedure room will be segregated from the current department," he said.
"We are planning to use this for the treatment of paediatric patients and allow the existing ED more options and beds for managing expected surge with winter and COVID-19 response."
John Hunter's emergency department is the busiest in the state and one of the busiest in Australia.
Public health measures have helped cut drastically the number of new coronavirus cases around the country in recent days.
Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, said on Wednesday afternoon that the nation had recorded just four positive tests in the previous 24 hours.
But Professor Kelly urged families to hold off a "little bit longer" on allowing children to visit grandparents.
NSW reported on Wednesday three new deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the state total to 33.
A 75-year-old man, a household contact of a known case, died in St George Hospital in Sydney.
An 80-year-old woman with existing medical conditions died in Gosford Hospital, which has a cluster of cases.
A 92-year-old woman became the third resident of Anglicare Newmarch House in western Sydney to die.
Twenty patients, including 16 on ventilators, are in NSW intensive care units.
Meanwhile, NSW Health is planning to extend testing to anyone in the state who has mild symptoms.
The state's laboratories are now turning around coronavirus tests in 24 hours, compared with five days to a week in the early days of the pandemic.
"If we have enough testing kits and swabs and collection points, we will be announcing testing is open to anyone with symptoms who wants a COVID test," NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said on Wednesday.
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