Received

The leaders of NSW's COVID response are celebrating after the state recorded another drop in daily COVID-19 cases while maintaining high testing numbers.

Some 177 new infections were diagnosed from 75,378 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday, down from 236 the day before. It's the lowest daily tally in more than three months.

"To be in a position where we're opening up and still have over 75,000 people going out to get tested is fantastic," Premier Dominic Perrottet told reporters on Sunday.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the case total was "great news".

While modelling had predicted an increase in diagnoses and hospitalisations in October, authorities were "really happy" to see that never eventuated, he said.

The community was still going to get tested at good numbers and more people were being vaccinated every day, Mr Hazzard said.

"I have a sense of confidence that the community is still with us on the journey," he said.

One death was reported on Sunday - a woman in her 70s from southwest Sydney who was not vaccinated and died at Concord Hospital.

Some 340 people are in hospital with the virus, including 78 in intensive care. Of those, 64 are not vaccinated, five have received a single dose and nine are fully vaccinated, said NSW Health's Jeremy McAnulty.

The falling case numbers come before the rollout of the state's booster program and a shake-up to regional and international travel.

Pfizer booster shots will be available from Monday through pharmacists, GPs and the mass vaccination hub at Homebush. Regional facilities would be set up as well, Mr Perrottet said.

Restrictions on travel between Sydney and the regions will be lifted on Monday for fully vaccinated people.

"For the first time in a long time, grandparents will be able to visit grandkids ... many people will be reunited," Mr Perrottet said.

The decision to push back regional travel by two weeks to November 1 was unpopular but the correct one, he said, as regional vaccination rates were close enough to Sydney's to be safe.

Regional areas continue to account for a significant portion of the new cases, with 33 diagnosed in Hunter New England, 22 in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, and 13 on the Mid North Coast.

Mr Perrottet would not be drawn on reports he was considering delaying restored freedoms to the unvaccinated until 95 per cent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated, instead of sticking with December 1.

But he said the roadmap was always under review.

Hotel quarantine in NSW for fully vaccinated international arrivals will be abandoned from Monday as well.

Trick or treaters and other revellers are advised to keep their Halloweens COVID-safe.

"I don't think you're supposed to be safe at Halloween, are you, but from COVID I'd like you to be safe," Mr Hazzard said. "Don't be spooked by COVID, just enjoy the rest of Halloween."

He said kids should try to remain socially distanced if they can and ensure that lollies are wrapped.

© AAP 2021

Australian entertainment legend Bert Newton has died at the age of 83.

The four-time gold Logie award-winning entertainer, who had a leg amputated in May this year due to a life-threatening infection, died on Saturday at a private clinic in Melbourne, according to media reports.

The Nine Network, with which Newton - affectionately known as Moonface - was longest associated, confirmed the news which sparked a widespread response from high-profile entertainers and politicians.

"Australian TV wouldn't be what it is without Bert," comedian Adam Hills tweeted.

"It's up to us all to take what he taught us, and keep his spirit alive."

Melbourne-born Newton started in the radio business aged 12 and scaled the heights of Australian entertainment on stage and screen.

Alongside Graham Kennedy and Don Lane he was part of a trio known as the kings of Australian television.

His TV credits include In Melbourne Tonight, The Graham Kennedy Show, The Don Lane Show, Good Morning Australia, New Faces, Bert's Family Feud, and 20 to 1.

On stage he played roles in the musicals Wicked, Annie, Grease, and as narrator in The Rocky Horror Show.

"Bert Newton was a giant of our industry, entertaining generations of Australians across our television screens," Nine's director of television Michael Healy said in a statement.

"He brought unbridled joy and laughter into our homes as part of so many programs, partnerships and formats."

Newton is survived by his wife of more than 46 years, Patti, children Lauren and Matthew, plus grandchildren.

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese said Australia has "lost an icon".

"My heart goes out to his family who have lost a husband, a father and friend," he tweeted.

Former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett also paid tribute among the torrent of condolences.

"Providing laughter and joy, and generosity for so many good causes. Patti, we are thinking of you and your family," he said on Twitter.

© AAP 2021

NSW has added 236 local infections to its COVID-19 caseload while a further three people have died from the virus.

Deaths across the state since the start of the pandemic now stand at 569.

NSW Health's Jeremy McAnulty says the latest fatalities include a Newcastle man in his 40s and a western Sydney man in his 60s. Both had received one vaccine dose and had underlying health problems.

A Sydney man in his 80s who died at Liverpool Hospital was fully vaccinated but had also been ill before contracting the virus.

Some 343 COVID-19 patients remained in NSW hospitals, 81 of them in intensive care and 33 in need of ventilation, Dr McAnulty said on Saturday.

More than 77,000 tests were conducted in the 24 hours to 8pm on Friday, while 93.5 per cent of NSW residents aged 16 or over have now received at least one vaccine jab.

The state's full vaccination rate stands at 87 per cent.

In the 12-15 year old age group, 79 per cent have had their first dose and 58.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.

New cases continue to be detected in the regions. Of the 236 latest infections, at least 146 were reported in health districts outside Greater Sydney.

Some 73 cases were found in the Hunter New England, 33 in Murrumbidgee and 13 on the Mid North Coast. Others were reported in the Illawarra, on the Central Coast and in the Blue Mountains.

Dr McAnulty said NSW Health's ongoing sewage surveillance program has also detected fragments of the virus in samples collected in a series of locations where virus cases were yet to be reported.

They included Leeton in the Riverina, Mullumbimby in the Byron Shire, the northern township of Inverell and in Uralla on the Northern Tablelands.

Despite this, authorities are preparing to open up travel between metropolitan Sydney and beyond, although Premier Dominic Perrottet says it won't happen until Monday.

"That was an unpopular decision for many people in Sydney," he said of the timetable on Friday.

"But it was the right decision for regional NSW."

Meanwhile a pilot program for rapid antigen home testing kits in public schools will begin in Albury, near the Victorian border, next week.

The kits will be handed out by schools for use at home by staff and students, who have to undergo a test twice a week as part of community surveillance.

They will also be used for close contact testing to identify positive cases on school sites.

However anyone who gets a positive result will have to get a standard test straight away to confirm the diagnosis.

Dr McAnulty also urged people intending to celebrate Halloween on Sunday to take all relevant precautions.

"Aim to keep celebrations outside, provide closed packaging for treats instead of communal lolly bowls and consider ways for distributing treats that are safe, for example, putting them along the front fence or in the front yard," he said.

"Keep it local. Try to stay in your neighbourhood rather than going to treat streets or wider afield. Don't let kids or yourselves share costume face masks and if you or your kids are at all feeling unwell, don't participate."

© AAP 2021