COVID-19 cases in NSW have fallen slightly but the state is bracing for a potential spike in case numbers, almost two weeks after stay-at-home orders lifted.
The state reported 345 cases on Friday, down from 372 on Thursday.
Five more people died, taking the death toll from this outbreak to 592.
They include people in their 30s, 50s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
One person was not vaccinated. Two were fully immunised, including a woman in her 90s who acquired her infection at Prince of Wales Hospital.
The other two had received one dose, including a man in his 70s who acquired his infection at the Greek Orthodox Community Home for the Aged in Earlwood.
The number of people in hospital continues to fall, now at 482, which is 41 lower than the previous day.
Despite the slight dip, case numbers are still higher than they've been for most of the past week.
Health authorities are expecting cases to begin rising in earnest from next week - two weeks after initial freedoms came in, and a week after the second stage of the roadmap out of lockdown allowed significantly more social interactions.
Premier Dominic Perrottet on Thursday said case numbers were still well below expectations.
"There will be increasing numbers, there will be an increase in hospitalisations," he said.
"And that's why I say to everyone across the state as we do open up, please follow the rules that are in place because those rules aren't there for the sake of it."
Case numbers continue to be evenly divided between Sydney and the regions.
Some 61 new cases were diagnosed in the Hunter New England Local Health District, 35 in the Murrumbidgee and 25 in the Central Coast.
Southwest Sydney again had the bulk of metropolitan infections, with 63 new cases recorded in that local health district.
Meanwhile, NSW continues its charge out of lockdown with Qantas set to bring back stood-down workers and restart international travel to and from Sydney.
Speaking at Sydney Airport on Friday morning, Mr Perrottet declared his state was on the "runway to recovery".
"We do want to open up as quickly as possible," he said.
"Ultimately it is a confidence game. Confidence got our state though last year ... confidence is going to get NSW through this pandemic and stronger out the other side."
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce attributed his decision to Mr Perrottet's call to abandon quarantine for international arrivals and federal changes to border rules.
Flights from Sydney to London and Los Angeles are already on sale, with routes to Singapore, Fiji, Johannesburg, Phuket, Bangkok and Delhi to follow.
Interstate travel between NSW and Victoria will still be disrupted for another week, with entrants to NSW from Victoria still subject to stay-at-home rules until November 1.
From that date an unvaccinated person who has been in Victoria in the previous 14 days will not be able to enter NSW for a holiday or recreation.
"There are still places of high concern -- close and casual contact venues -- in Victoria," NSW Health said.
