The daily tally of COVID-19 infections in NSW has jumped by more than 500, as the state braces for further surges with unvaccinated people now free to shop and socialise in NSW.
Some 1360 new cases were detected in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, an increase of 556 on the 804 recorded the previous day.
A total of 110 cases the Omicron variant of concern have been confirmed, NSW Health says.
Infections have more than quadrupled in a week, and it is the first time in months the state has recorded more than a thousand new cases in a single day.
The last time the tally higher was on September 11, when 1599 new cases were detected.
But the number of hospitalisations and deaths in NSW are a fraction of what they were then.
There was one COVID-19 death on Tuesday - a fully vaccinated woman in her 90s who caught her infection at an aged care facility in southwest Sydney.
Meanwhile, 166 people are in hospital with the virus, with 24 of them in intensive care and seven requiring a ventilator to breathe.
That compares with eight deaths reported on September 11, when 1164 people were in hospital with COVID-19.
More than 220 of them were in intensive care and 94 were ventilated.
Only 44.5 per cent of the state's adult population was fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The number is now more than 93 per cent.
However, increases in hospitalisations generally lag spikes in infections.
But Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett says the latest outbreak is not as concerning as previous ones because it's primarily infecting a younger, vaccinated cohort and presenting as a milder illness.
"The good news is that so far we haven't seen that translate into a shift in hospitalisations," she said.
The latest infection numbers are not surprising, she says, because "we're in spreader event time pre-Christmas", with parties, large social events and end-of-school functions.
"We won't get in front of Omicron because it's moving as fast, if not faster than Delta," she told ABC TV.
Booster vaccines would be important to reduce transmission, she said.
The Hunter region is the biggest headache for authorities at the moment, with the region accounting for about a third of the state's new cases on Tuesday, with 424 infections.
The explosion in cases stems from super-spreader events in Newcastle.
Among them is an outbreak at the Argyle House nightclub on the night of December 8, with more than 200 out of 680 revellers since testing positive.
"It is likely that the overwhelming majority of the cases in Newcastle will be the Omicron variant of concern," NSW Health said.
Meanwhile, unvaccinated people in NSW are now subject to the same restrictions as those who have been fully jabbed, for the first time in three months.
The easing of restrictions, long planned for December 15, has gone ahead despite the spike in cases.
QR code check-ins have been scaled back and masks are only required in high-risk settings such as public transport.
There is no longer a cap on visitors in homes, hospitality venues, or on numbers at outdoor gatherings.
Meanwhile, NSW Health says fully vaccinated arrivals from eight southern African countries of concern where the Omicron variant of COVID-19 emerged will no longer have to enter 14 days hotel quarantine, bringing all international arrivals under the same measures.
All fully vaccinated international arrivals must self-isolate for 72 hours, have a negative result within the first 24 hours of arrival and avoid high-risk settings for a week.
© AAP 2021