NSW has broken another pandemic record with 830 fresh cases of Covid-19 recorded overnight.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard confirmed the numbers at a press conference on Sunday morning.
There were three more deaths – two men in their 60s and 70s, and a woman in her 80s.
Mr Hazzard said there are 557 people in hospital with the virus in NSW, and 94 are in ICU – 83 of whom are not vaccinated, while the remaining patients have received one dose.
He also said NSW Health are jabbing about 50,000 people per day.
So far, 58 per cent of people in the state have had one dose of a vaccine and 31 per cent have had two doses.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Marianne Gale said the majority of cases in Sydney are in Blacktown, Greenacre, Guildford, Merrylands, Granville and Condell Park.
She also said Covid particles have been detected in the sewage in Bateau Bay on the Central Coast and encouraged all residents to get tested.
Residents of Lithgow, Parkes and Orange have also been urged to get a swab after 36 cases were recorded in the area.
‘The majority continue to be in the area of Dubbo and surrounds although we are also seeing cases in Bathurst, Wellington, Berks, Narromine and Orange,’ Ms Gale said.
‘We are calling to people of Orange to come out and get tested, is that while we have two [new cases] reported to 8pm last night, overnight we have had an additional four cases making a total of six in Orange at the current time.’
NSW registered a record 825 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday morning – the highest number of infections ever recorded in a single day in Australia. Pictured: A woman at a vaccination centre in Sydney
There were at least 58 residents who were infectious in the community with three deaths recorded overnight on Saturday
NSW Health has 200,000 vaccine bookings so far, but NSW Health deputy secretary Susan Pearce said there could easily be 200,000 more.
‘The reality is, we really need people to continue to come out and get vaccinated,’ she said.
‘Don’t delay … it is reasonable to leave your home to get vaccinated, you don’t need to be concerned about that.’
Mr Hazzard reminded residents that the path out of lockdown relies on them following health directives and staying at home.
‘Stay home unless you must go out for the essential reasons … or go out to get vaccinated,’ he said.
On Saturday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the state registered its worst day of Covid cases Australia has seen during the global pandemic with a staggering 825 new infections.
The state leader lamented the ‘catastrophic consequences’ of the minority doing the wrong thing in the community.
‘This is nothing Australia has seen before. Even in very strict and harsh lockdowns, the virus is spreading,’ she said.
‘That is a fact. What we need to do is protect ourselves and loved ones by staying at home and getting vaccinated.’
There were at least 58 residents who were infectious in the community with three deaths recorded overnight – a man in his 80s, a man in his 90s and a woman in her 80s.
There were 120,000 vaccines given on Friday alone, as the state moving towards six million jabs.
Victoria had Australia’s previous daily record of 725 cases which was recorded during the state’s mammoth 112-day lockdown last year.
In a bid to shift public focus from the rising tide of cases to ‘more important’ vaccination figures and the national goal of 70 and 80 per cent coverage, Ms Berejiklian said she’d noticed a ‘change in attitude’ from her interstate counterparts.
Pictured: A woman is questioned by NSW Police on Broadway on August 21 during anti-lockdown protests
Pictured: A police officer is injured during a ‘National Rally for Peace, Freedom and Human Rights’ anti-lockdown protest in Sydney, Saturday, August 21
‘We accept that Delta is here,’ she told reporters.
‘We accept heading to zero across the nation, especially once you open up and live freely, will be an impossible task.’
The premier implored people to ‘be real about it’ and know that vaccinations were keeping them and their loved ones out of hospital.
Nearly 80 per cent of Saturday’s cases were in Sydney’s west and southwest where tough new restrictions including a night-time curfew are in force.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Marianne Gale said six residents of the Normanhurst facility’s dementia ward had been diagnosed with the virus after an unvaccinated staff member worked while infectious. Four of them had declined the jab.
An illegal party in the beachside suburb of Maroubra held last weekend has led 16 revellers to test positive, plus some of their contacts. Up to 60 people attended the event.
Pictured: People exercising at Bondi Beach on Saturday, as the state recorded 825 new infections
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he’d been told a funeral in western NSW may have drawn up to 500 mourners.
‘Many of those people are now returned to the far flung parts of our state and I’m already hearing from our health system that there are cases that are positive in various communities and those will probably grow in the next few days,’ he said.
‘There is no time now to be selfish.’
The spread of the virus in the state’s far northwest is of ‘very, very grave concern’, Ms Berejiklian warned.
The entire state is now locked down and a police blitz underway to enforce harsher regulations and increased fines.
A concerted police operation to smother a planned anti-lockdown protest in Sydney appeared to be effective with numbers a fraction of a demonstration earlier this month.
Some 1500 police were involved in patrolling approaches to the CBD, while train services, taxis and ride-share services were excluded.
NSW Police arrested 47 people and fined more than 260 in relation to protests across the state.
They issued 137 tickets after stopping around 38,000 cars approaching the city.
A 32-year-old man who allegedly assaulted an officer was arrested and charges are expected to be laid.
The constable was taken to hospital for head and neck injuries.
Leichhardt Public School has been closed after a staff member tested positive to COVID-19, and Lane Cove West Public School was also shut after a student tested positive.
Staff and students at both schools have been asked to self-isolate until further notice, a NSW Education spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday night.
Persistently high case numbers have led to stay-at-home orders for Sydneysiders until at least September 30 while regional NSW is locked down until at least August 28.