The Hunter recorded 31 new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Friday, 18 of which were in Lake Macquarie. Five cases were in Cessnock, three were in Newcastle, two each were in Maitland and Singleton and Port Stephens had one.

NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty said fragments of the virus have been detected in sewage at Dungog and Tamworth, with residents in those areas warned to be on alert and get tested if they have symptoms.

Both Dungog and Tamworth were released from lockdown last Thursday.

"If there are cases in these communities it's important we identify them so we can protect others in the community," Dr McAnulty said.

Twenty of the Hunter cases were infectious in the community, the isolation status of three were unknown.

Eighteen cases are linked, 15 are currently in hospital including one in ICU.

There are currently 1,187 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital in NSW, with 229 people in intensive care, 118 of whom require ventilation.

Across the state, 84.7 per cent of the eligible population has received a dose vaccine, and 57.8 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Dr McAnulty said he was "proud" to see vaccination rates increasing.

"The more people we can get vaccinated, the sooner we'll reach those goals of 70 and 80 per cent," he said.

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