New South Wales has recorded 1,127 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and two further deaths, as authorities say it is too early to tell whether infections have reached a peak.
The deaths reported in the 24 hours to 8pm Monday include a woman in her 80s from western Sydney who died at Ryde Hospital. She had received one dose of a vaccine and had underlying health conditions.
A man in his 50s from western Sydney died at Concord Hospital. He had no underlying conditions and received one vaccine dose three days before testing positive for the virus.
There are currently 1,253 patients with COVID-19 admitted to hospital in the state with 231 people in intensive care, 104 who require ventilation.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty said cases continue to be primarily at highest rates in western and south-western Sydney. Suburbs of concern include Auburn, Greenacre, Bankstown, Liverpool, Merrylands, Punchbowl, Riverwood, Yagoona, Condell Park, and St Clair.
"Although throughout Greater Sydney and regions, we are seeing cases," he said.
In the 12 local government areas of concern (LGAs), tougher restrictions, including a curfew, remain in place.
"There's a suite of measures put in place across NSW, depending on disease and other factors and those suite of measures include a range of activities, including, in some areas, a curfew," he said.
"Government is continually reviewing those measures, based on the numbers and how they're trending and other factors like immunisation."
Dr McAnulty said 78.8 per cent of the state's residents aged over 16 have had one vaccine dose, while 46.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.
He said it was pleasing to see vaccination rates increasing "so quickly", which may be placing downward pressure on daily infections.
But he urged caution, saying daily infections had flattened in the past before surging again.
"It's too early to know if we're flattening the curve, but we're seeing, pleasingly so far, that cases haven't been increasing as fast as they have been, but there may be an effect of the weekend," he said.
"We'd like to see a few more days before we can have confidence about whether this is a trend."
NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce expressed concern about the vaccination rate in Paramatta, which is tracking at lower than average doses.
"I think one of the things about vaccine that we've always known was that the more people who were vaccinated, the more people would get vaccinated, because they're seeing that being vaccinated is safe and effective," she said.
"Most of the other LGAs have come up very significantly and you must remember only a few short weeks ago we were talking about rates, first-dose rates of, in some cases, less than 20 per cent.
"We're now seeing those LGAs with rates above 70 per cent and 80 per cent in terms of first dose."
In the state's far-west, five further cases were reported, including one in Broken Hill and one in Wilcannia, bringing the total number of cases there to 167.
Seventeen new cases were recorded in the Illawarra, in the state's south, with 14 in the Hunter region and nine in the Central Coast.
There were four new infections in southern NSW, bringing the region's total to 27, including a case in Yass.
The Yass Valley Council area was placed back into lockdown from Tuesday following a confirmed COVID-19 case and a positive sewage detection.
Sewage testing has left health authorities concerned about the community of Young in the Murrumbidgee local health district.
"There's been no cases reported in Young so [we're] just urging everybody in that community or who has been in that community to come forward for testing with even the mildest of symptoms," Dr McAnulty said.
"If there are cases there in the community, we can identify those quickly."
With AAP.
