NSW recorded 24 new COVID-19 deaths, as hospitalisations continued to plateau and the Deputy Prime Minister walked back comments made on live radio that "people aren't dying" from the virus.
The number of people with the virus in the state's hospitals is 2,816, of which 196 are in ICU.
Sixty-nine people are on ventilators.
This morning, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce apologised for comments made on RN Breakfast after saying "people aren't dying" during the nation's latest outbreak.
Mr Joyce was responding to a question asking if the Australian government could still claim to be the "envy of the world" when it came to pandemic management.
"Well, people aren't dying," he said.
When challenged by host Patricia Karvelas, Mr Joyce retracted the comment.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry. Yes, you are correct, I shouldn't have said that. But the number in which — the fatality rate is very low," he said.
"Obviously, that is a tragic thing for anybody ... [to die] for any reason — for catching the flu.
"But the fatality rate of Omicron is remarkably low and Australia has done a remarkable job."
There were 15,091 new infections recorded in the 24 hours to 8:00pm yesterday, of which 6,901 were from rapid-antigen tests (RATs) and 8,190 were from PCR swabs.
It takes the number of active cases to 227,428.
NSW Health says 6,336 of the positive RATs recorded yesterday were taken in the past seven days.
Those figures may include multiple tests submitted by the same person, or people who have had both a RAT and PCR test.
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said by all metrics, the spread of coronavirus was slowing in the state, although the number of new cases from the most recent reporting period could be affected by lower testing numbers at the weekend.
Dr Chant expected an uptick in cases on the return of the school year, but said that could be "mitigated by the actions of you as individuals" such a getting booster shots.
"The evidence is that you really do need a booster, so all those people sitting there with those two [vaccine] doses and thinking I have done my bit, I have protected myself, we now know that particularly for the Omicron variant, immunity wanes and you need that higher level of protection," she said.
Of the latest deaths in NSW, only two of the 24 people had received a booster shot.
Two people in their 50s died, both of whom had significant underlying health conditions.
Official data puts the uptake of booster shots for people who are immunocompromised or aged 18 and over now sits at 33.5 per cent, up from 32.8 per cent yesterday.
Both Dr Chant and Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Monday morning the rate was nearly 40 per cent.
Vaccination rates for people aged 16 and over sit at 95.3 per cent single dose and 93.9 per cent double dose.
For the 12-15 age group, 82.7 per cent have received one jab and the double-dose rate is 78.4 per cent.
There are now 28 per cent of children aged five to eight who have received one jab.
"To the parents who have gone and got vaccinated, if you've got a teenager at home, a 12 to 15-year-old who hasn't been vaccinated ... we all have obligations to make sure our kids are kept as safe as possible," he said.
Mr Perrottet said the state had distributed 5 million rapid antigen tests to schools ahead of the return to class.
He said there would be some disruptions for classrooms but praised NSW and Victoria for "leading the way" in their plans for a safe return to schools.
Meanwhile, Woolworths managing director Natalie Davis has reported an ease in supply chain issue which have crippled the essential services sector in recent weeks.
Ms Davis said staff shortages that were as high as 20 per cent have now fallen to 10-13 per cent, but challenges still remained for the sector.
"From our suppliers to our distribution centres, transport companies, and over the last week people have started to come back from isolation, and also the number of cases that we're having are dropping, so we're seeing more people come back to work," she said.
