Three people from Lake Macquarie and a person from Maitland were among the 35 who lost their lives with COVID-19 across NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday.
The Hunter New England Health District recorded 1357 new positive cases in the 24-hour period.
Of the new positive test results in the Hunter New England region, 927 came from rapid antigen tests while PCR tests contributed 430.
The rapid antigen test results include some cases where an individual has taken multiple tests, or a rapid antigen test and PCR test in the same reporting period.
The local health authority said on Friday morning that four men - aged in their 70s, 80s and 90s - from Lake Macquarie and Maitland had died with the virus.
The number of people in hospital has increased to 60 - up from 55 the previous day.
There are seven people receiving intensive care.
It came as NSW recorded 35 more deaths and 13,333 new positive test results in the 24-hour period.
Of those, 7077 came from rapid antigen tests and 6256 from PCR tests.
There are 2737 people with the virus in hospital across the state - 189 of those patients in intensive care units.
