Hunter cases jumped again, with 82 fresh infections announced in Sunday's update.

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said areas including Newcastle and Maitland remained concerned because "we are seeing seeding".

Lake Macquarie added 31 cases including seven in Bonnells Bay, three in Windale and two each in Belmont, Charlestown, Gateshead, Teralba, Whitebridge and Warners Bay.

Cases were also recorded in in Belmont South, Blackalls Park, Booragul, Glendale, Redhead, Swansea Heads, Toronto, Wyee and Marmong Point.

Newcastle had nine cases, with Wallsend's two the only multiple for a suburb. Other cases emerged in Adamstown, Bar Beach, Hamilton, Jesmond, Kotara, Mayfield and Shortland.

Cessnock had 15 cases; six in Weston, three each in Cessnock and Kurri Kurri, and additional infections in Bellbird, Heddon Greta and Paxton.

A quarter of Maitland's 12 cases came from Woodberry, four from South Maitland, two each in Metford and Thornton and the last from Rutherford.

Fullerton Cove and Raymond Terrace had two each in Port Stephens, with Anna Bay and Medowie also adding cases.

Muswellbrook had four cases while Singleton's two were spread across the town itself and Darlington.

Dungog added an East Gresford case, while the health district also added cases in Gunnedah and West Tamworth.

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The region's number has bucked a statewide drop, with NSW adding 667 cases and ten deaths.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard described the number as "quite a dramatic drop in the last three weeks" for Sydney, but flagged that other areas remained of concern.

Mr Hazzard said that while October 11 appeared likely to be the 70 per cent mark, but warned that the extent of the outbreak would dictate when freedoms became free.

"It could change, I hope it doesn't," he said.

981 COVID cases are in hospital, with 195 requiring intensive care across the state.

Of those who died - six women and four men - two were aged in their 50s, four in their 60s, two in their 70s and two in their 80s.

"Three people were from south western Sydney, three people were from western Sydney, one person was from south eastern Sydney, one person was from the Eastern Suburbs, one person was from the Wollongong area, and one person was from the Nepean Blue Mountains area," NSW Health said.

"Four people were not vaccinated, four people had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and two people had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. The two people who had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine both acquired their infections in aged care facilities."

Another 43 cases were added on the Central Coast.

Vaccination rates are creeping close to 90 per cent for first doses, with 88.1 per cent of people over 16 inoculated.

66.5 per cent were fully vaccinated by midnight on Friday, the latest data shows.