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NSW is being cautioned to be COVID-safe amid the excitement of the state re-opening next week as cases of the virus bounce back up.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said people were looking forward to opening up on Monday but urged everyone to continue wearing masks and maintain physical distancing.

"It's an exciting time but I caution everyone to do everything safely," she said on Friday.

There were 646 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and 11 more deaths, reported in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday.

That makes 414 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the outbreak in June, including nine men and two women in the last 24 hours.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said NSW would face challenges as the first state leading the way out of months of COVID-19 lockdowns.

"We can't let perfection be the enemy of the good here," he told 2GB radio on Friday.

"The alternative to not doing it this way would be that businesses would have to remain closed to well later in the year."

"This is not going to be complete smooth sailing because no one else has gone down this path."

As of midnight on Wednesday 89.4 per cent of people 16 and over had received their first dose of a vaccine.

Mr Perrottet said the state being on the cusp of 90 per cent first dose jabs made its rates of vaccination amongst the highest in the world.

Some 856 people are in NSW hospitals with COVID-19 with 170 of them in intensive care and 75 on ventilators.

The Australian Medical Association of NSW said changes to the state's plan to emerge from lockdown could overwhelm the hospital system and burn out healthcare workers.

"Relaxing restrictions too soon will not be a 'popular' decision if it means the number of people contracting the virus and ending up in hospital skyrockets," AMA NSW President Danielle McMullen said.

But Katherine Gibney from the Doherty Institute says while COVID case numbers will go up as restrictions loosen, easing out of lockdown is inevitable.

"Hopefully with high vaccination rates we'll be protected against the more severe disease and those requiring hospitalisation and ICU but we are expecting these to increase in the coming weeks and couple of months," Dr Gibney told ABC TV on Friday.

"It has to be done. We can't live in lockdown indefinitely."

A revised strategy to reopen NSW includes ten adult visitors to be allowed in homes, 30 permitted to gather outdoors, and 100 guests at weddings and funerals.

Indoor swimming pools will be able to open and all school students will be back in the classroom by October 25. All teachers will have to be fully vaccinated by the same date.

From Monday people will be able to travel between Sydney, Shellharbour, Wollongong, the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast but not into the regions.

The United Workers Union, which represents many frontline and public-facing workers, is concerned members checking vaccination status could be put in unsafe situations.

The union wants the government to issue clear guidelines to protect public facing workers, and penalties for non-compliance, as well as to implement a simple way to verify vaccination status.

The integrated Service NSW vaccine certificate or passport app is still being trialled with 500 people in regional NSW.

Restrictions will ease further when 80 per cent of the adult population is fully jabbed, expected around October 25, when 3000 people will be allowed at ticketed outdoor events and nightclubs can reopen, though dancing will not be permitted.

Masks will not be required in office buildings in an attempt to encourage workers back to Sydney's CBD.

These freedoms will apply only for the fully vaccinated until December 1, when freedoms are set to be restored for the unvaccinated.

© AAP 2021

NSW is trailblazing a path out of COVID-19 lockdowns but its premier accepts the course will be less than perfect just days out from reopening.

Dominic Perrottet admits the road to recovery won't be "complete smooth sailing" as no other state has "gone down this path" yet.

"Everyone just needs to treat everyone with kindness and respect," he told Sydney radio 2GB on Friday, amid fears hospitality and retail staff from Monday will bear the brunt of tracking patrons' vaccination status.

Doctors including the Australian Medical Association of NSW said changes to the state's plan to emerge from lockdown could overwhelm the hospital system and burn out healthcare workers.

"Relaxing restrictions too soon will not be a popular decision if it means the number of people contracting the virus and ending up in hospital skyrockets," AMA NSW president Danielle McMullen said.

The new premier said he knew the new phase was "going to be difficult" but asked for patience as "we learn as we go ahead".

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant urged people to continue wearing masks and maintain physical distancing as the state reopens.

"It's an exciting time but I caution everyone to do everything safely," she said on Friday.

There were 646 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and 11 more deaths, reported in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday.

As of Thursday, 89.8 per cent of people 16 and over had received their first vaccine dose.

Mr Perrottet said the state being on the cusp of 90 per cent first-dose jabs made its rates of vaccination among the highest in the world.

COVID-19 deaths since the start of the outbreak in June have reached 414, including nine men and two women in the latest 24-hour period.

Some 856 people are in NSW hospitals with COVID-19, with 170 of them in intensive care and 75 on ventilators.

A revised strategy to reopen NSW includes 10 adult visitors to be allowed in homes, 30 permitted to gather outdoors, and 100 guests at weddings and funerals.

Indoor swimming pools will be able to open and all school students will be back in the classroom by October 25. All teachers will have to be fully vaccinated by the same date.

From Monday, people will be able to travel between Sydney, Shellharbour, Wollongong, the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast but not into the regions.

The United Workers' Union, which represents many frontline and public-facing workers, is concerned members checking vaccination status could be put in unsafe situations.

The integrated Service NSW vaccine certificate or passport app is still being trialled with 500 people in regional NSW.

Opposition health spokesman Ryan Park said employers were confused and concerned.

"Just this morning I was speaking to a small business owner who didn't have a clue what will happen on Monday if they get a positive case in their local business," he said.

Dr Chant also confirmed a new type of Delta variant had been identified in eight positive cases.

"There's no indication that this new strain presents any differences regarding transmission, vaccine effectiveness or severity," Dr Chant said.

Mr Park queried its impact on easing restrictions, saying "every new strain brings new concerns".

Restrictions will ease further when 80 per cent of the adult population is fully jabbed, expected about October 25, when 3000 people will be allowed at ticketed outdoor events and nightclubs can reopen, though dancing will not be permitted.

Masks will not be required in office buildings in an attempt to encourage workers back to Sydney's CBD.

These freedoms will apply only for the fully vaccinated until December 1, when freedoms are set to be restored for the unvaccinated.'

© AAP 2021

Australians with severely weakened immune systems will be offered a third coronavirus jab to maximise protection against the deadly disease.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation on Friday released new recommendations for all people aged 12 and above with certain conditions or undergoing specific therapies.

Up to 500,000 people will be able to receive a booster shot from Monday.

A Pfizer jab is preferred for people two to six months after their second dose with a minimum interval of four weeks in exceptional circumstances.

Severely immunocompromised people who received their second dose more than six months ago should get another injection as soon as possible.

ATAGI is expected to provide advice about booster shots for the wider population by the end of October.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said Australia had secured 151 million doses to enable a booster program.

"There's enough vaccine for every Australian to have first and second doses," he told reporters.

"There's enough vaccine for every Australian as they come due for boosters."

Booster shots will be made available to organ or stem cell transplant recipients, people with blood cancer and those receiving treatments that dampen their immune systems.

People living with HIV that is not controlled by therapy, receiving certain arthritis medications and those born with an immunodeficiency are also included.

Labor's health spokesman Mark Butler wants to know when frontline healthcare workers and older Australians will be eligible for booster shots.

"We've seen evidence that the immunity from those vaccines does start to wane after several months," he told reporters in Adelaide.

"Are we going to see, yet again, something that's too little, too late on booster shots?"

ATAGI is expected to provide advice on booster doses for healthcare workers, older adults and the general population in its next update.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said the general principle would be for people to receive an mRNA vaccine such as Pfizer or Moderna as their third dose.

"A third dose is likely, at this stage, to be the last dose we have to do," he said.

Professor Kelly believes coronavirus vaccines are unlikely to be like the annual flu jab.

He has also released a plan for health workers who come into contact with coronavirus to keep working rather than be isolated.

Australia has now vaccinated more than 60 per cent of its population aged 16 and above, while 81.5 per cent have receive at least one dose.

The health minister said the latest increase took Australia past the United States, Israel and the European Union on first-dose coverage.

Mr Hunt said Pfizer was in talks with the Therapeutic Goods Administration about applying for children aged five to 11 to be approved for vaccination.

Victoria reported 1838 new COVID cases on Friday, the highest single-day total of any state or territory since the pandemic began.

There were five more deaths across the state and 11 in NSW, which recorded 646 new local cases.

Canberra detected 40 more infections.

© AAP 2021