A 70-year-old Indigenous woman from Enngonia has become the region's second COVID-19 casualty, after it was announced on Monday she had died at Dubbo Hospital.
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Western NSW Local Health District chief executive Scott McLachlan broke the news during the midday media conference, saying the woman was not vaccinated at the time of her death.
"A tragic day in Western NSW has seen a second death in our region," he said.
"With that there has never been a more important time to look at vaccination opportunities."
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Mr McLachlan's comments were supported by Western NSW Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner Geoff McKechnie who hopes to see more vaccination rates.
"As Scott said, it is a really sad day for a little place like Enngonia for them to lose one of their much loved elders," he said.
"But it does reinforce the dangers for people who are over that 70 years of age mark and the challenges this virus poses for those folks.
"Please get vaccinated if you can. There's so many opportunities for us out there."
Mr McLachlan and the state government have been pushing hard for NSW to get to 70 per cent full vaccination in order to ease some restrictions.
"The rates have increased in recent weeks but we still have a long way to go.
"This is a sombre reminder about the tragic outcomes that can happen if you aren't vaccinated."
There were 44 new cases of COVID-19 in Western NSW to 8pm Sunday.
Thirty-five of those were in the Dubbo LGA, with a single case from those in Wellington.
Of the 44 cases, three were infections in the community, nine were in isolation and 32 are being investigated.
There are also growing concerns over two aged care facilities in Dubbo which have both had residents recently test positive for COVID-19.
St Marys Villa has five total cases along with a single staff member testing positive.
"The five affected residents are all well and cared for," Mr McLachlan said.
The Holy Spirit aged care facility also had a single case which was identified but it is still under investigation as to how the patients contracted the virus.
The most recent cases numbers mean the region has 831 total cases in the latest outbreak with a staggering 617 of those in Dubbo.
Mr McLachlan also confirmed the Australian Defence Force will return to Dubbo from mid next week for those eligible for second doses of the vaccine following on from the first clinic two weeks ago.
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