COVID-19 cases have spiked to near-record levels in the Hunter, forcing at least one school to resume home learning due to a lack of teachers.
Hunter New England Health district recorded 3303 positive rapid antigen and PCR tests on Friday, the highest count of the second omicron wave and the most since early January.
A total of 18,663 people have tested positive in the region in the past seven days, which equates to more than 2 per cent of the Hunter and New England population.
The latest omicron wave is surging through school-age children and is affecting staffing at some campuses. Many students are catching the virus for a second time.
The Maitland-Newcastle Catholic diocese said on Friday that St Therese's Primary School at New Lambton had asked some year groups to stay home due to teacher absences.
About two dozen other schools across NSW have asked some class cohorts to resume learning from home.
One in four children aged 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated.
A peak advisory group, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, said on Friday that it supported phasing out mandatory isolation for household contacts.
The committee's statement opens the door for national cabinet to recommend to states that they end mandatory isolation for close contacts by the end of April, after what it forecasts will be the peak of the latest omicron wave in the middle of the month.
But it warned that relaxing isolation requirements too soon could overwhelm hospitals.
"Making changes, including changes to quarantine settings, that will result in increased transmission in the community at a time when cases are already increasing or are at their peak may result in further disruption to the health system," the committee said.
The number of COVID patients in NSW hospitals rose again on Friday to 1345, the most since February 18, and 43 people are in intensive care.
The state recorded 25,495 positive cases in the 24 hours to 4pm on Thursday.
NSW Health reported the deaths of two people with COVID-19 on Friday, a man in his 50s from western NSW who had received four vaccine doses but had significant underlying health conditions and an unvaccinated man in his 70s from the Central Coast who also had serious health issues.
