NSW has reported 7583 new COVID-19 cases and six more deaths as mask mandates are eased across the state in most indoor settings.
There are 1144 patients in hospital with the virus, 64 of them in intensive care, and 28 on ventilators.
NSW Health reports 53.1 per cent of people 16 and older have now received a COVID-19 booster shot, while 94.3 per cent have had two vaccine doses.
Of the five men and one woman to have died from the virus in the latest reporting period, one was in their 50s, one was in their 70s and four were in their 80s.
"The man in his 50s who lost his life "had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and had significant underlying health conditions," NSW Health said in a statement.
Five of those who died were from south western Sydney, and one person was from the Northern Rivers region, the health agency said.
The latest COVID-19 numbers bring the total COVID-19 death toll in NSW to 1,879 since the start of the pandemic.
From Friday, masks longer need to be worn in shops, but remain compulsory on public transport, at airports and on planes, as well as in hospitals, aged and disability care facilities.
Masks are also still required to visit prisons and at indoor music festivals with more than 1000 people.
Despite the changes, NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty said on Friday that he "strong recommended" masks be worn indoors where safe physical distances between people could not be maintained.
The highly anticipated easing of restrictions will be followed up next week with high school students and staff no longer required to wear masks from Monday.
Parents will be allowed back on school campuses, year groups will be able to mix freely and assemblies and school camps return.
Staff and students will no longer be required to undertake twice-weekly rapid antigen tests, unless they have symptoms.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has said he hopes relaxing the rules will encourage workers to return to city offices to "breathe life back into" the CBD.
The easing of mask mandates comes after the government on Thursday dismissed Labor claims that there was a "cabal of anti-vaxxers" among its MPs who have refused to get the jab, while the government has made it compulsory for frontline workers to be vaccinated.
Mr Perrottet says he is not aware of any unvaccinated coalition MPs but expected members of parliament to be vaccinated.
