Masks will be encouraged but not mandated, despite COVID-cases skyrocketing to a new record of 2,566 in NSW on Sunday.
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In the Illawarra and Shoalhaven alone, 31 new cases were recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm Saturday night, while 35 cases had been recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm Friday.
Of those, 22 cases were from Wollongong Local Government Area, eight cases from the Shellharbour Local Government Area and one case from Shoalhaven Local Government Area.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said on Sunday the state government was pushing for double vaccinations and booster shots across the state as the community needs to learn to live alongside the virus.
"If you're in close proximity to people inside with a big group of people, consider wearing a mask - a mask still helps to try and stop the spread," he said on Sunday morning.
"But we also have to live our lives in a normal way coming into 2022."
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Meantime, Dominic Perrotett said the "new normal" was for case numbers to increase and indicated there would be no change to restrictions for NSW before Christmas.
Statewide, there was another incline in cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Saturday, with 2,566 new COVID-19 cases, and 148,937 tests administered in the same period.
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There are currently 227 people with Coronavirus in hospital, 28 of those in ICU units. In good news there was no COVID related deaths in the same reporting period.
The vaccination rate in NSW is also continuing to climb. 94.9 per cent of the population over the age of 16 have received their first dose of a vaccination and 93.4 per cent have received both doses of a vaccine. In the 12 to 15 year-old age group 81.5 per cent of teenagers have received their first dose and 78.1 per cent have received both.