COVID-19 case numbers in the Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) remain stubbornly high as 45 new infections were detected overnight.

Lake Macquarie added 19 cases with three in Edgeworth, three in Mount Hutton, two in Blackalls Park, two in Bonnells Bay and one each in Toronto, Cardiff, Mirrabooka, Dora Creek, Lakelands, Teralba, Valentine, Windermere Park and Yarrawonga.

Numbers have jumped in Newcastle with 15 detections, three of those are in New Lambton, two are in Mayfield, two in Cooks Hill, and the remaining cases are in Merewether, Wallsend, Newcastle East, Bar Beach, North Lambton, Islington, Adamstown Heights and Maryland.

Cessnock discovered five cases with three in Kurri Kurri, and two in Weston and Cessnock.

Two cases in Tenambit and infections in South Maitland and Farley have added four to Maitland’s total.

Discoveries in Darawank and Gowrie have added one new infection to both the Mid-Coast and Singleton LGAs.

At least 28 were infectious in the community and 32 of them are linked to existing clusters. More than 730 close contacts remain in isolation.

In the district there are currently 439 active cases with 13 people requiring care in hospital, two are in ICU.

While no cases were found in the Muswellbrook LGA, NSW Health has detected fragments of coronavirus in the area’s sewage.

Even though there are known cases, the town has been urged to be vigilant for symptoms.

“We’ve seen a number of sewage detections in regional areas,” Dr Jeremy McAnulty said on Sunday.

“I would like to call out those areas and really encourage people in those towns to come forward for testing for even the mildest of symptoms.”

HNELHD’s Dr David Durrheim added it’s the first time fragments have been found in the area.

“There has been a detection of COVID-19 viral fragments for the first time in the Muswellbrook sewage catchment,” he said.

“There are known cases in this area [but] we encourage the local community to get tested for COVID-19 if they are experiencing even mild symptoms.”

It comes as NSW reported 961 new cases.

Tragically, another nine people also died – six men and three women.

One person was in their 40s, two in their 60s, two in their 70s, and four in their 80s. Eight people were unvaccinated, and one had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

If you need to get tested for COVID-19 there are more than 410 clinics open across NSW.

For a complete list and booking details, visit: health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/clinics.aspx

For our latest COVID-19 news click here.

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