Good signs in Hunter as restrictions set to ease again

The health district recorded 77 cases to 8pm on Saturday but of these only 26 were from the Hunter, with Cessnock and Newcastle reporting seven cases and Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens five each.

The Hunter's total was even lower the previous day, with just 23 cases.

Over the past seven days, the Hunter New England Health District has reported 455 cases but less than half of these are from the Hunter (219) as the New England region deals with its "superspreader" event related to a funeral and a wake.

The Hunter's double-dose vaccination rate of 89 per cent surpassed the then NSW state figure (87.8 per cent) last week.

NSW is on the brink of hitting 90 per cent full vaccination of people aged 16 and over, with 89.7 per cent now double-dosed. The latest regional figures are expected to be released on Monday.

Under the previously flagged changes for NSW, there will be no limit on home visitors and as many as 1000 people can gather outdoor as restrictions ease further for vaccinated people.

Hospitality venue density limits move to one person per two square metres, while stadiums, racecourses, theme parks, zoos, cinemas and theatres can operate at 100 per cent of their fixed-seated capacity.

Unvaccinated NSW residents, meanwhile, have to wait until December 15 or when the state reaches a 95 per cent double-vaccination rate to enjoy roadmap freedoms.

There were another 244 local COVID-19 cases reported in NSW along with one death, an unvaccinated man in his 60s from Albury who died at Melbourne's Box Hill Hospital.

His death brings the state's toll throughout the pandemic to 593, with 537 of those coming from the current Delta outbreak.

There are 269 patients battling the virus in hospitals across the state, 52 of whom are in intensive care.

There are 19 people in Hunter New England hospitals, with four in intensive care.

COVID-19 continues to spread in regional NSW, with more than half of new infections outside Sydney.

Apart from the 77 cases in Hunter New England, there were 20 new cases on the mid north coast, 17 in Murrumbidgee and nine in western NSW.

Virus fragments were also detected in samples collected from other regional areas where there are no recent known cases, including Bermagui, Moruya, Young, Gulargambone and Cobar.

Anyone in these areas with symptoms is urged to immediately get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.

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