NSW still awaiting school COVID-safe plan

A week before the NSW school term is due to begin the state is yet to release a plan to return kids to classrooms amid the continuing COVID-19 outbreak.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on Friday said rapid antigen tests would play a “short-term role” to boost confidence and that opening schools on day one was “critically important”.

The plan is expected to be released in the coming days but Opposition Leader Chris Minns said parents and teachers urgently needed clarity.

“We really need the NSW premier to front up and explain to the parents and teachers and students of this state when that plan will be released,” Opposition leader Chris Minns said on Friday.

A record number of deaths were reported on Friday – 46 – taking the overall pandemic toll to 1024.

Seven of those fatalities occurred between December 29 and January 13, but the tally does not include the December death of an infant in the Hunter New England region.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the coroner's findings would be released once the family and clinicians are informed of “the contribution that COVID may or may not have made”.

Some 25,168 new cases of COVID-19 were also recorded, including 15,153 from positive PCR tests.

But hospitalisations fell on Friday to 2743, with the number of people in ICU with the virus decreasing by three to 209, and 68 people on ventilators.

That's better than NSW Health's “best-case scenario” predictions, based on outbreaks in London and South Africa, that projected a peak of 3158 people in hospital and 270 in ICU.

The premier again stressed vaccinations and boosters were key to living alongside the virus, but has said the health system is coping.