SEVEN new cases of coronavirus have been identified in NSW in the past 24 hours, but it is not yet clear if the number of cases in Port Stephens has grown.
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Six of the seven cases are linked to the Thai Rock restaurant cluster, NSW Health says, which is how the virus made its way into the Hunter region.
The source of the other case has not been identified.
There are still no confirmed cases of active COVID-19 in the New England North West.
There were a record 36,169 tests reported in the 24-hour reporting period, which ran to 8pm on Thursday.
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There is now 96 cases being treated by NSW Health, with three in intensive care.
The Hunter New England Health local health district has been contacted for comment.
There were no new cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel.
There are now 56 cases associated with the Crossroads Hotel cluster, 52 cases associated with the Thai Rock restaurant and eight cases associated with the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club.
In the update provided by NSW Health on Friday, the department urged NSW resident to adhere to social distancing and personal hygiene advice.
"Given the current context of local transmission, NSW Health has directed all public hospitals that health workers must now wear a surgical mask if they are within 1.5m of patients," the health department said.
"Patients are also required to wear a mask, where possible. This advice applies to hospital and community health settings and comes into effect today.
"While most cases have been linked to known clusters, community transmission continues and NSW Health is calling on people across the state to redouble their efforts to stop the virus spreading."
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