MORE than 5700 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in NSW, blowing away the daily record set just 24 hours earlier.
The state detected 5715 cases in the day to 8pm on Wednesday, adding one death.
Across the state 347 people with the virus are in hospital, with 45 in intensive care.
The number was found off the back of 160,471 tests.
Vaccination rates continue to climb, with 94.9 per cent of adults over 16 having received a first dose and 93.5 per cent a second.
For those aged 12 to 15, those numbers are 81.5 per cent and 87.2 per cent.
The state government is weighing up mailing out free rapid antigen tests and appears likely to reintroduce QR codes, but mandating masks appears off the table despite health advice.
An unvaccinated man in his 40s from western Sydney with underlying health conditions died from the virus.
The number of people in hospital has climbed to 347, up 45, with 45 in ICU, 13 of whom are ventilated.
NSW Health says most patients are unvaccinated.
Sydney remains the state epicentre of the virus, but transmission is also raging in the Hunter New England area, which has 976 new cases.
The South Eastern Sydney Local Health District has the most cases, with 1186 recorded in the last 24-hour period.
