The NSW government is hailing its student rapid-antigen testing (RAT) regime a success, revealing no schools have had to close due to COVID-19 during the first week of term one.
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said it was a "marked difference" to the situation last year when many schools were temporarily shut down after staff or students tested positive.
"I really couldn't have wished for a better start to the school year," Ms Mitchell said.
Since Monday, students and staff have been asked to take a COVID-19 test at home two mornings a week before going to school.
Data released showed that 2,417 students and 617 staff tested positive during the first week back but the new rules meant that while those affected were required to isolate at home, classes were able to continue.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said he was "incredibly proud" of what had been achieved.
"If we go back a few weeks ago, we sat in press conferences where people said bringing kids back to the classroom couldn't be done," he said.
"What I saw this week was smiles on so many kids' faces right across he state as they returned to class."
Final-year university students and Department of Education staff had been on stand-by to fill in for absent teachers but in the end gaps were filled by existing staff and casual teachers.
"We have been able to manage those staffing absentee rates with the programs that we have in place," the Education Minister said.
School attendance rates across 2,200 government schools in NSW were running at 86 per cent.
"It tells me that parents have confidence in the systems that we have in place in our schools and that they are working well," Ms Mitchell said.
More than 17 million rapid tests are now being prepared for distribution to parents for use in weeks three and four of the school term.
The government has yet to announce whether the program will be continued after that.
Ms Mitchell said a survey was being sent to all parents and teachers asking for feedback before a decision is made.
"The question going forward is what is the take-out from families, what do we see in terms of case numbers in our schools and communities?" she said.
"They are the kind of things we will be considering over the next week or so as we determine what happens from week five onwards in the school term."
NSW has reported 31 COVID-19 deaths after the state recorded its lowest number of infections in the last nine days.
There are now 2,494 people with the virus in hospital, of whom 160 are in ICU.
There were 10,698 new cases in the 24 hours to 4pm yesterday, of which 6,122 were from RATs and 4,576 were from PCR swabs.
NSW Health said 94 per cent of people aged 16 and over have now had two vaccine doses and 42.8 per cent have had a third dose.
Almost 79 per cent of children between the ages of 12 and 15 have had two doses.
NSW Health officials said the last data showed that the number of people requiring hospital treatment for COVID-19 was decreasing.
In the past week there were 253 deaths related to COVID-19.
Of those, 136 were aged care residents.
Despite the majority of deaths being among older people, only 18 per cent of those who died had had a booster shot and about one in five was unvaccinated.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said boosters were essential to provide protection from the latest variant.
"I have made it very clear that for Omicron, you need to consider three doses as being up-to-date and for some people four," Dr Chant said.
"There is no doubt, you need the three does and anyone who is feeling two is enough is incorrect, the science is very clear on that."
