NSW has reported a record 1290 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and four deaths, including one in Dubbo.
The entire state is currently locked down and police are cracking down on compliance measures as authorities battle to contain the spread of the virulent Delta strain.
The deaths recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday include a man in his 50s in Dubbo, two men in their 70s and a woman in her 60s.
The toll for the current NSW outbreak now sits at 93, with the national toll for the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic surpassing 1000.
In NSW, there are 840 COVID-19 patients in hospital, with 137 people in intensive care and 48 ventilated.
“While it is important for us to reduce case numbers, we know the greatest way to do that is getting vaccinated – vaccination is the key in terms of our freedom and reducing the spread of the virus,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.
The NSW government on Sunday committed to restoring personal freedoms to fully vaccinated residents once the state hits 70 per cent double-dose coverage, regardless of COVID-19 case numbers.
This is expected in roughly mid-October.
As of Saturday, 66 per cent of eligible NSW residents had got at least one vaccine dose and 35.9 per cent were fully vaccinated.
The government, having reached a six million jab target, last week announced a “treat” for fully vaccinated NSW residents allowing them to have small picnics outdoors.
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell on Monday said she was confident that with rising vaccinations rates students can start a staggered return to school from October 25, building up to having all students back from November.8.
However, there’s hope of an earlier return to school in the regions if a lockdown was lifted earlier, Ms Mitchell told the Nine Network.
A survey of 50,000 public school teachers found about 70 per cent had one vaccination and 40 per cent were double vaccinated.
Meanwhile, there’s a COVID-19 alert for Quality Medical Centre at Merrylands in western Sydney, covering last Monday to Saturday at various times.
Elsewhere, authorities confirmed that a COVID-19 outbreak at Parklea prison in Sydney’s northwest has reached 31 cases. This includes at least 12 new COVID-19 infections.
AAP
