Big W, Market Place at Raymond Terrace and Foodworks at Whitebridge are the latest outlets added to the list of Hunter's exposure sites.

Anyone at Big W at Raymond Terrace on Tuesday August 24 from 9am to 5pm and Wednesday August 25 from 9am to 5pm is considered a casual contact. They must get tested and isolate until a negative test is received.

Hunter New England Health said the Big W exposure was likely to class certain people as close contacts. It said it was reviewing CCTV footage and would contact anyone it considered a close contact.

The exposure at the Foodworks at Whitebridge occurred on Friday August 27 between 4.40pm and 4.45pm. Anyone at the store at this time is considered a casual contact and must get tested and isolate until a negative test is received.

Whitebridge was listed as the location of one of the Hunter's three new COVID-19 cases on Monday, with the others at Edgeworth and Cessnock.

IN THE NEWS

The Monday update is a welcome sign for the Hunter after numbers rose faster on the weekend.

Cases in the Hunter New England health district grew by seven in Sunday's update, spread across suburbs including Birmingham Gardens and Adamstown Heights, Thornton, Raymond Terrace and Cessnock.

The Hunter's list of exposure sites grew on Sunday to include restaurants, a bakery and a daycare centre.

Cessnock prison is also locked down after several inmates at Parklea tested positive.

"Vaccination will be the key and we are certainly looking at opportunities to ramp up vaccinations as well as public health responses," she said.

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