NSW has recorded 49 new COVID-19 deaths but the number of people being treated in the state's hospitals and intensive care units has continued to plateau.
A total of 2,693 people with the virus are in the state's hospitals, of which 186 are in ICU.
There were 13,354 new cases recorded in the reporting period, of which 5,426 were from positive rapid antigen tests and 7,928 were from PCR swabs.
NSW Health said 37.5 per cent of the population had received their booster shot.
The state recorded 70 fatalities on Friday, although 35 of those were historical deaths that occurred at aged care facilities.
There was a delay in reporting the deaths to NSW Health.
Saturday's daily death toll is the state's second-highest since the start of the pandemic, after Friday's total.
NSW Health said of the 49 deaths reported, 28 were women and 21 were men.
Two people were in their 60s, 10 people were in their 70s, 17 people were in their 80s, 19 people were in their 90s, and one person was 100 years old.
NSW Health said 11 of the 49 people who died had received three doses of a COVID vaccine.
The number of people being treated for COVID in hospital and in intensive care dropped slightly from the previous reporting period.
Premier Dominic Perrottet on Friday said the state was "tracking within capacity".
Hospital admissions have plateaued over the past week, as predicted, and modelling released by the NSW government showed the number of seriously ill people in ICU had been below "best case" scenarios.
Although hospital rates have been bouncing around slightly, NSW Health deputy secretary Susan Pearce said a decline was expected next week.
"They might not follow a lovely curve, and it may be a bit lumpy but we do expect that in the coming week we will start to see some declines," she said.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard told the ABC on Friday that he would like to see the third jab, currently being given as a booster, essential for people to be considered fully vaccinated across Australia.
He said this policy change would have to be made by national cabinet and wasn't sure why there hadn't been any progress on the issue yet.
"I'm not part of national cabinet, but I understand that most of these things require a range of medical expert input," he said.
