Taronga Western Plains Zoo helps during Dubbo COVID crisis

Neither of those cases were infectious in the community, but the majority (all except for three) Dubbo cases were active in the community while infectious.

There are now 107 in Dubbo, four in Walgett and three in Mudgee (one of those resides in Sydney).

Community leaders say it's too early to be optimistic about the decrease in new cases.

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"That drop is a short-term signal, I certainly wouldn't take it as though we're on top of this, or that we're going to see continued decreases in coming days," Western NSW LHD chief executive Scott McLachlan said. "We need to assume that the person next to you, the neighbour next to you, your children or other people getting around our communities could have COVID."

Sixty per cent of people infected with the virus are Aboriginal, and 40 per cent are aged between 10 and 19. Two people are in Dubbo Hospital, including a man who was airlifted from Bourke.

Learning from home continues for local schools, with a number remaining closed due to more cases being identified including Mian School, and Dubbo West Public School.

The number of people getting tested across the region soared to more than 10,000, with almost half of those (4,500) in Dubbo.

But with those huge numbers, comes blow outs in waiting times for results. The 'test and isolate' payment announced by the State government is not available to regional NSW residents, but Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders said it is being "looked at".

"The hold up between the test and test result is still quite long, as much as possible is being done to try and minimise that, we do understand it is extremely frustrating," he said.

There are increasing numbers of people having to self-isolate, leading the local health district to establish emergency accommodation in Dubbo and some in outlying areas.

Taronga Western Plains Zoo has made its self-contained cabins available for "vulnerable families who are not able to safely isolate".

"There is no risk to zoo staff or animals, due to the location of the cabins being external to the zoo itself, and NSW Health management of the site as an isolation zone," a spokesperson said. "The health and safety of our community is paramount and the zoo is proud to be able to offer this assistance during this time."

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