COVID case numbers in Western NSW have risen significantly in 24 hours, and the local health chief warned to expect a further increase on Friday.
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There was a "substantial amount" of additional cases in Wellington recorded post the 8pm cutoff, and will be included in Friday's numbers.
Up to 8pm Wednesday there were 43 cases in the Western LHD, four of which were in Dubbo, four were in Wellington and two were in Narromine.
"Today is a very sobering day with a very significant jump in the number of cases across the whole of Western NSW," Western NSW LHD Chief Executive told media on Tursday. "It's a real reminder of how quickly the situation can change.
"We have seen again a significant increase in the number of cases overnight, our teams are still working through those but again, further cases in Wellington - a substantial amount in Wellington."
Worrying authorities is the transmission of the virus among young people, especially school-aged children.
Almost 60 per cent of Thursday's case numbers are people under 20 years-old, and more than half of those are children under 10.
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Mr McLachlan is urging parents to get their kids tested over the long weekend.
He also said "we can't let ourselves think this is going to be over when the state opens up at the 70 per cent vaccination".
"We're rocketing our way towards 70 per cent vaccination in Western NSW and that's positive, but we know that we're going to continue to see our case numbers going up."
Meanwhile, the eligibility for Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have changed, and both are now available for everyone over 60 years-old.
Western NSW LHD is waiting for endorsement from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), before it can issue advice on vaccination booster shots.
Mr McLachlan acknowledged that there would be people in the region approaching 12 months since being double vaccinated.
"It's definitely being considered, it's not approved at the moment, so we've got to focus on getting everyone to 90 and...hopefully 100 per cent vaccination across our region as our top priority."
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