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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian admits her state may never again reach COVID-zero as the number of daily infections continues to rise.

NSW reported a record 291 new locally-acquired cases of COVID-19 on Friday, with at least 96 of those in the community while infectious.

A woman in her 60s who acquired the virus while a patient at Liverpool Hospital became the latest fatality.

The unvaccinated woman was infected by a health care worker at Liverpool Hospital last week while she was being treated for a kidney problem.

Her death, the second connected with the outbreak at the hospital, takes the current outbreak toll to 23.

Ms Berejiklian on Friday warned the escalation in daily infections would continue in the coming days.

She all but conceded the state would not reach her earlier target of zero cases circulating in the community.

Ms Berejiklian said the case numbers and behaviour of the Delta variant meant it was "pretty obvious" that "we now have to live with Delta one way or another".

But she insisted that returning to zero "has to be our aspiration".

The premier again pointed to vaccination as a way out of the crisis.

The more people who are vaccinated, the sooner the state will be able to live more freely, Ms Berejiklian told reporters.

She said life on August 29 - when Greater Sydney's lockdown is scheduled to lift - would be a reflection of how many people had been vaccinated and the case numbers.

"Once we have the 70 per cent vaccination rates, life will be much easier and of course once we hit 80 per cent, life will be as normal as we can expect during COVID," she said.

Some 44.66 per cent of NSW residents over 16 have been jabbed at least once, with a record 93,626 doses issued in the state on August 5.

While case numbers in Fairfield are flattening, Canterbury-Bankstown is emerging as the area of most concern. That area will endure a greater police presence to ensure lockdown compliance.

Twelve staff members at a KFC in Punchbowl have tested positive for the virus. It has been listed as a close contact venue for the seven-day period to Monday.

Meanwhile, all trial exams for Year 12 students in Sydney will be moved online. Students in the eight local government areas seeing a higher caseload will be barred from the classroom until further notice.

The council areas are Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool and Parramatta.

Year 12 students elsewhere will be able to re-enter the classroom for specific activities on August 16.

The government hopes to vaccinate about 24,000 final year students at the Qudos Bank Arena at Olympic Park from next week.

The outbreak caused the NSW government to call off Vivid Sydney 2021 on Friday, but the festival of lights should be back in May next year.

There are 50 patients in NSW in intensive care, with 22 ventilated.

Only six ICU patients have had any dose of the vaccine, and none are fully vaccinated.

Two of the new cases were identified in the Newcastle area, which along with the Hunter was sent into a seven-day snap lockdown on Thursday.

There were no new cases in the Central Coast, which reported eight cases the previous day.

Twelve shops at a shopping centre at Charlestown in the Greater Newcastle area have been declared close contact venues, with possible exposure occurring across a three-hour period last Thursday afternoon.

The government also declared on Friday that anyone who arrives in NSW and has been in Victoria since Thursday evening must follow that state's stay-at-home rules and only leave home with a reasonable excuse.

© AAP 2021

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian admits her state may never again reach COVID-zero as the number of daily infections continues to rise.

NSW reported a record 291 new locally-acquired cases of COVID-19 on Friday, with at least 96 of those in the community while infectious.

A woman in her 60s is the latest person to die from the virus, taking the toll of the current coronavirus outbreak to 23. She was unvaccinated.

The woman was infected by a health care worker at Liverpool Hospital last week while she was being treated for a kidney problem. It's the second death connected with the outbreak at the hospital.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday warned the escalation in daily infections would continue in the coming days.

She all but conceded the state would not reach her earlier target of zero cases circulating in the community.

Ms Berejiklian said the case numbers and behaviour of the Delta variant meant it was "pretty obvious" that "we now have to live with Delta one way or another".

"It's obviously a challenge for us to get down to (zero), but that has to be our aspiration," she told reporters.

The premier again pointed to vaccination as a way out of the outbreak.

"The more people we get vaccinated, the sooner we will be able to live more freely," Ms Berejiklian told reporters.

She said life on August 29 - when Greater Sydney's lockdown is scheduled to lift - would be a reflection of how many people had been vaccinated and the case numbers.

"Once we have the 70 per cent vaccination rates, life will be much easier and of course once we hit 80 per cent, life will be as normal as we can expect during COVID," she said.

More than 44 per cent of NSW residents over 16 have been jabbed at least once.

Case numbers are flattening in Fairfield, the erstwhile epicentre of the outbreak.

But they are rising rapidly in the Canterbury-Bankstown local government area. That area will now endure a greater police presence to ensure lockdown compliance.

Twelve staff members at a KFC outlet in Punchbowl have tested positive for the virus. It's been listed as a close contact venue for the seven-day period to Monday.

Meanwhile, all trial exams for Year 12 students in Sydney will be moved online. Students in the eight local government areas seeing a higher caseload will be barred from the classroom until further notice.

The council areas in question are Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool and Parramatta.

Year 12 students elsewhere will be able to re-enter the classroom for specific activities on August 16.

The government hopes to vaccinate about 24,000 final year students at the Qudos Bank Arena at Olympic Park from next week.

There are 50 patients in NSW in intensive care, with 22 ventilated.

Only six ICU patients have had any dose of the vaccine, and none are fully vaccinated.

Two of the new cases were identified in the Newcastle area, which along with the Hunter was sent into a seven-day snap lockdown on Thursday.

There were no new cases in the Central Coast, which reported eight cases the previous day.

NSW Labor on Friday said the government should provide more "Dine and Discover" hospitality vouchers to those who get the jab.

© AAP 2021

NSW has reported a record 291 new locally-acquired cases of COVID-19 and at least 96 of those were circulating in the community for all or part of their infectious period.

A woman in her 60s has also died while receiving care in Liverpool Hospital, taking the toll of the current coronavirus outbreak to 23. She was unvaccinated.

Greater Sydney and surrounding regions are in lockdown until at least August 28 and the NSW Hunter for a week as health authorities battle to contain a outbreak of the virulent Delta strain.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday warned the escalation in daily infections would continue in the coming days and again pointed to vaccination as a way out of the outbreak.

Almost 44 per cent of NSW residents over 16 have been jabbed at least once.

"The more people we get vaccinated, the sooner we will be able to live more freely and I really want to stress that point," Ms Berejiklian told reporters.

"Life for us on August 29 will be a reflection of how many people have at least one dose of the vaccine and where the case numbers are.

"Given where numbers are, given the experience of Delta overseas, we now have to live with Delta one way or another and that is pretty obvious. The higher the vaccination rate, the safer we are, the freer we'll be."

There are 50 patients in NSW in intensive care, with 22 ventilated.

Meanwhile, Year 12 students in western Sydney's eight coronavirus-hit council areas will not return to in-person schooling when the remainder of the city's students re-enter the classroom on August 16.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said in a statement on Friday that HSC students in the eight local government areas of concern would not return to school, allowing time for vaccinations to take effect.

The council areas in question are Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool and Parramatta.

Students who reside in those areas but go to school in others will also be barred from attending school.

Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park will from Monday be available to Year 12 students in the virus-hit areas for Pfizer vaccinations.

For locked-down Year 12 students in other parts of Sydney, all school assessments and trial HSC exams will be completed from home.

"Education is essential and we must provide our HSC students the opportunity to receive the curriculum and wellbeing support they need during the last few months of their schooling," Ms Mitchell said in a statement.

The NSW Teachers Federation said in response that it would continue to prioritise the health and safety of students and its members. It has opposed the return of Year 12 students to classrooms.

It comes as people in Newcastle and the Hunter region join Greater Sydney in lockdown for at least one week after local cases were uncovered.

The seven-day snap lockdown was called after five new cases turned up in Newcastle and eight more were found in the Central Coast region. Another two cases were on Friday recorded in the Hunter.

NSW Labor on Friday also said the government should provide more "Dine and Discover" hospitality vouchers to those who get the jab.

© AAP 2021