TWO more Hunter New England COVID-19 patients are in hospital, with dozens of fresh cases detected across the region and wider health district.
Hunter New England added 44 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, with more than half falling in the Hunter itself.
The figure comes from 88,104 tests across NSW in the same window.
Midcoast Council area had 19 cases, with eight in Taree alone eclipsing the highest count in a Hunter local government area.
Newcastle added seven cases, the region's highest tally.
Three were in Birmingham Gardens, two in Waratah and individual cases for North Lambton and Maryland.
All four Cessnock cases stemmed from Abermain while Belmont North, Cameron Park and Windale had Lake Macquarie's three cases.
Port Stephens had two cases, in Glen Oak and Lemon Tree Passage, while a Rutherford case was Maitland's only detection.
Tamworth had six cases, with Moree Plains and Inverell adding one each.
Of the new cases 32 were infectious in the community, with the status of two unknown.
All but 12 cases are linked to known or existing clusters.
The health district now has 758 total active cases.
Of the 14 in hospital, three require intensive care.
Hunter New England was the state's second-highest source of cases on Wednesday, trailing behind South Western Sydney's 60 cases and ahead of Western Sydney's 35 detections.
