A RECORD 19 new COVID-19 cases have been added in Tamworth in the latest update, marking a larger daily increase than the total amount of cases recorded in the city last year.
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Eight of the cases were in Tamworth, seven in Oxley Vale, three in South Tamworth and one in West Tamworth.
Gunnedah added two new infections in the Thursday update, one in Gunnedah itself and one in Curlewis.
Tamworth had the highest daily tally in the entire Hunter New England Health (HNEH) district, which clocked a record total of 103 new cases.
HNEH public health physician Dr David Durrheim confirmed all new cases in Tamworth and Gunnedah were linked to a cluster and had a known source of infection.
"The vast majority were actually isolating for the full period that they were infectious, which is really good news," he said on Thursday.
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All transmission in Tamworth has occurred exclusively in large social groups and in families, with no cases recorded from transmission in shops or workplaces.
One new casual coronavirus exposure site at Woolworths in Shoppingworld was added overnight.
There have been 65 cases recorded in Tamworth in the past four weeks, according to NSW Health.
Dr Durrheim warned now is "not the time" for non-essential regional travel as HNEH continues to see large case numbers across the district.
"Now is the time to get jabbed," he said.
Dr Durrheim confirmed only 17 per cent of the recent cases in HNEH had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and all only had very mild illness.
He encouraged wearing masks, maintaining hand hygiene and steering clear of large social gatherings.
The state recorded 406 new cases to 8pm on Wednesday and sadly reported the deaths of six people.
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