HUNTER daily COVID cases have spiked to 11 on Friday, including one new case in the Maitland Local Government Area, as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it appeared numbers would peak in two weeks.
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The region's outbreak grew to 204 cases, 85 active, with the fresh infections spanning into the Upper Hunter local government area for the first time.
Centennial Coal has confirmed that a worker at its Mandalong underground mine tested positive, while Hunter New England Health flagged several exposure sites including supermarkets at Charlestown and Shoal Bay.
It was not immediately clear if the coal worker was among the cases announced on Friday, with eight fresh cases also announced on the Central Coast.
They join a growing list of Hunter exposures, and concerns after some Sydney tree loppers who went door to door in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie later tested positive to the virus.
Hunter New England Health data also indicated that testing last week was the lowest it had been throughout August in the region, with less than 40,000 tests.
Four cases were from Port Stephens, with three in Salamander Bay who were isolating while infectious and linked to a current positive household infection in that area.
A New Lambton case and another at Heatherbrae were both infectious in the community and is unlinked as contact tracers seek the source.
Both Lake Macquarie cases, at Swansea Heads and Whitebridge, and a North Lambton case were linked to a current positive household case and in isolation.
A Raworth case is linked to a household case, while the infectous status of an unlinked Upper Hunter case from Parkville is under investigation.
The Hunter New England health district figures also include an unlinked Armidale case in Castle Doyle.
Five people are in the heatlh district's hospitals, with none in intensive care.
649 Hunter close contacts are in isolation.
1431 cases were added in NSW, with a dozen deaths in the 24 hours to 8pm Thursday.
They included a woman in her 30s,a woman in her 60s, four men in their 70s, three women in their 70s, a man and woman both in their 80s and a man in his 90s.
All were in Sydney.
Ms Berejiklian said that while pressure on the health system was expected to peak next month, September could deliver the state's peak in cases.
But she urged people to watch vaccination and hospitalisation rates as the most important metric on performance managing the outbreak.
"The best health advice I have is that we anticipate a peak in cases in the next fortnight," Ms Berejiklian said.
"The next fortnight is likely to be our worst in terms of cases.
"You have nothing to fear about getting the disease if you follow the health orders and get vaccinated. That is the best protection."
In other news:
Matt Carr
Matt began his Newcastle Herald career as a cadet in 2009. He is a Walkley nominated reporter who has covered councils, police and general news rounds across the Upper Hunter, Port Stephens, Maitland, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock and Newcastle. Now his focus is on digital storytelling and breaking news.
Matt began his Newcastle Herald career as a cadet in 2009. He is a Walkley nominated reporter who has covered councils, police and general news rounds across the Upper Hunter, Port Stephens, Maitland, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock and Newcastle. Now his focus is on digital storytelling and breaking news.
