While the region's vaccination rates are "getting there" we can't yet afford to "let it rip", Hunter New England's public health controller has warned.

"There are just too many vulnerable people still out there," Dr Durrheim said. "We really need to continue to buffer and prevent unnecessary spread of the virus. That's why we are still contact tracing and still trying our darndest to identify close contacts and get them to isolate."

In some Hunter LGAs, testing numbers had also dropped by about 5000 a week in the past month. In Lake Macquarie, testing numbers dropped from 30,697 four weeks ago to 8282 last week.

Hunter New England recorded 59 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday, with the majority of those cases spread across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock, and Maitland.

The news followed Monday's closure of three Hunter schools that were listed as exposure sites the same day the majority of students were expected to return to face-to-face learning.

Thornton Public School, Irrawang Public School, and Mayfield West Public School were all closed for cleaning and contact tracing.

But as the community opens up and children return to schools and childcare, we will begin to see more transmission in those settings, Dr Durrheim warned.

"I think we have more cases ahead than there are behind us," he said. "It may not be in the short term, but the virus will seek the opportunity to spread when it comes into contact with un-vaccinated people.

"It is incredibly infectious, and particularly in settings like homes and social groups, it spreads like a wildfire.

"Last week - just with having early learning centres, kindergarten and year 1 returned, the number of schools that had to close was amazing. If anyone in the family has symptoms, it's a good idea to get the whole family tested."

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There has been an 80 per cent first-dose uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 12 to 15 across the Hunter. In Lake Macquarie, 78.8 per cent of people 12-to-15 had received one dose, and 29.3 per cent had received two. In Newcastle, 81.9 per cent had received a first dose, and 30.8 per cent had two. And in Port Stephens, first dose uptake was 80.7 per cent, with 27 per cent receiving a second dose.

"We are on the right trajectory," Dr Durrheim said. "We haven't had the vaccine available to our 12-to-15 year olds as long as it has been in Sydney, so let's catch up."

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