Hospitals in the Hunter New England Health district are treated 16 people for COVID-19 and three are currently in intensive care, as 73 new cases were reported overnight.
Cases have continued to emerge in the New England and North West regions of the state, with 21 new cases reported within the Inverell local government area and 20 new cases in Moree.
Health officials have earlier this week described a funeral and subsequent wake and several large social gatherings in Moree in recent days as "super spreader events" trigging the sharp spike in case numbers in that part of the state.
Residents in those regions have been encouraged to get vaccinated, while close contacts have been urged to follow health guidelines around testing and isolation to minimise further community transmission.
Meanwhile, there were seven new cases reported in the Newcastle local government area overnight, with five from Lake Macquarie, four from Cessnock, four from Maitland, four from Tamworth, three from the MidCoast LGA, three from Port Stephens and two from the Armidale Regional LGA.
Of the total number of new cases 57 have been linked to known transmissions, while seven are unlinked and nine remain under investigation.
Thirty-nine cases were said to be infectious while in the community, while 25 were isolating during their infectious period.
Advice for close contacts:
Hunter New England Health has provided the following advice for close contacts of COVID-19 positive cases.
If you are fully vaccinated with two doses of completed at least 14 days before you had contact with a COVID-19 case:
- self-isolate for 7 days
- get tested straight away and again on day 6
- leave self-isolation after 7 days if your test on day 6 is negative, you feel well and you have had no further contact with a COVID-19 positive person
- for the following 7 days, work from home if you can and do not attend a high-risk setting (healthcare, aged care, disability care, early childhood centres, primary school and correctional facilities) even if it is your place of work
- get tested again on day 12.
If you are not fully vaccinated with no, one or two doses completed within 14 days of contact with a COVID-19 case:
- self-isolate for 14 days
- get tested straight away, on day 6 and again on day 12
- leave self-isolation after 14 days if your test on day 12 is negative, you feel well and you have had no further contact with a COVID-19 positive person.
If you have had COVID-19 in the past six months you will generally not be considered a close contact and you do not need to self-isolate or get a test unless you have symptoms.
