The Hunter New England Local Health District’s (HNELHD) COVID-19 death toll is continuing to rise after three people from Newcastle and one person from Singleton passed away with the virus.

Aged in their 60s and 80s there were three males and one female.

In the district, there are 53 people in hospital, with five in ICU beds.

It comes as 936 new cases were detected across the region from 391 PCR tests and 545 RATs.

NSW as a whole reported 7,893 new infections – from 4,337 RATs and 3,556 PCRs – and 28 deaths.

Aside from the local losses, deaths were reported in Sydney, the Central Coast, Wagga Wagga and the Mid North Coast.

Five people had received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, 20 people were double jabbed, and three were not vaccinated.

All three people who were under the age of 65 had serious underlying health conditions and one was triple vaccinated, one was double jabbed and one was not vaccinated.

Across the state, 2,321 people are in hospital with 147 requiring care in ICU.

If you are struggling to find a RAT and need to get tested for COVID-19 there are many testing locations open across NSW.

To find your nearest clinic visit nsw.gov.au/covid-19/stay-safe/testing/clinics

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