The COVID-19 outbreak in NSW is tracking better than government modelling predicted as hospitalisations fall, but record deaths continue as the state's pandemic toll passes a grim milestone.
NSW reported the deaths of 33 men and 13 women on Friday, taking its overall pandemic toll to 1024.
Seven of those deaths occurred between December 29 and January 13 and were reported following coronial investigations.
More than a quarter of the deaths were reported in the past two weeks, during which 324 people died.
The figures exclude the December death of an infant in the Hunter New England region, which authorities confirmed on Friday was being investigated by the coroner.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the findings will be released once the family and clinicians are informed of "the contribution that COVID may or may not have made".
The state on Friday also reported 25,168 new cases, including 15,153 from positive PCR tests.
Despite the high fatality figure, there are some reassuring signs, Premier Dominic Perrottet said.
Hospitalisations dropped again to 2743 on Friday, having risen to 2863 on Wednesday.
The number of people in ICU with the virus decreased by three to 209 on Friday, while 68 people remained on ventilators.
That's ahead of NSW Health modelling's "best-case scenario", based on outbreaks in London and South Africa, that projected 3158 people in hospital and 270 in ICU.
Overall, 8002 public hospital beds were occupied on Thursday night, short of the capacity of 9500.
Just under 5000 staff are currently furloughed but that number was recently above 6000.
Mr Perrottet says vaccinations and boosters are the key "as we learn to live alongside the virus".
"The alternative is lockdowns and that's not the right approach."
NSW previously had higher restrictions than Victoria and recently introduced density limits and bans on singing and dancing that Victoria subsequently implemented too.
He drew a line between some people wearing masks when they were "highly recommended" and the public now "following the recommendation to minimise household gatherings".
But the Opposition leader says the premier "still doesn't get it".
"Creating a false choice between lockdowns and modest restrictions that could have stopped, or at least alleviated the spread of the disease, even though he was warned by senior bureaucrats ... and his own chief health officer, has been very difficult for frontline workers in this state," Chris Minns said on Friday.
Opposition health spokesman Ryan Park says the premier "has got to start listening to experts".
"We have nurses, frontline clinicians, cancer experts, patients saying every single day that the system is at breaking point," he said.
Dr Chant said the state can expect to see high death numbers over the coming weeks as there is a "significant lag" between someone testing positive and dying.
The state also needs to be wary of and prepare for flu season as it moves through a "transitional phase", having seen little burden on the health system from flu during the past two pandemic years, Dr Chant says.
"We've got new tools such as the antivirals and boosters and vaccination, and we're going to need to use all of them.
"We know that some of the people that will experience more severe outcomes from COVID will also be subject to flu and that's something we have to plan for and consider going forward."
