Hunter New England Health also reported four new infections in Armidale, one in Gunnedah, and one in Moree in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

While case numbers remain low in the North West, the outbreak in Newcastle continues to grow with 267 new infections confirmed in the city.

Dr Jeremy McAnulty, from NSW Health, urged people in Newcastle to consider deferring social events until after Christmas, to keep family Christmas gatherings safe.

High rates of transmission have been linked to people gathering at bars and clubs for social functions, causing "super spreading events," she said.

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Meanwhile, a new venue of concern was listed in Newcastle on Wednesday night, the Cambridge Hotel on Hunter Street.

Anyone who attended the hotel between 6.30pm on Friday and 2.30am on Saturday is considered a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case who was there and should get tested and isolate for seven days.

Dr McAnulty urged those with no symptoms to consider taking rapid antigen tests before going out to make sure they're not infected.

In the Hunter New England district a total of 633 new cases were confirmed. Nine people are in hospital with coronavirus, and two are in intensive care.

Across the state cases are also on the rise with 1742 new infections being reported, of these, 122 have been confirmed to be the Omicron variant.

Dr McAnulty said the emergence of the Omicron variant was a reminder of the importance of booster shots to maintain high levels of protection.

NSW residents over the age of 18 are eligible for their booster shot five months after their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Across NSW 94.8 per cent of the population aged 16 plus have had at least one dose of a vaccine while 93.3 per cent are fully vaccinated.

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