NSW still needs to absorb some further easing of COVID-19 restrictions but a return to normality and prosperity is not far off, according to Premier Dominic Perrottet.
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Compulsory wearing of masks in shops was dropped across the state on Friday and the same mandate will be lifted in schools from Monday.
Staff and students will also no longer be required to undertake twice-weekly rapid antigen tests.
Despite the state adding 6014 new infections to its caseload on Sunday and recording a further seven deaths, Mr Perrottet is hopeful the changes will breath new life into central Sydney and other major CBDs.
"After each outbreak we've seen a strong return to activity in the city and that's incredibly important because when Sydney goes well, the state and the country goes well off the back of it," he told reporters on Sunday.
"Ultimately now, with face masks being removed for the office, I think we'll see a lot more people return to the city tomorrow and not just the city CBD but in Wollongong and Parramatta as well, as people return to work."
In the wake of widespread disruption due to an industrial dispute, Mr Perrottet said Sydney's metro trains would also return to full-time table operations across the city from Monday.
Meanwhile, there are 1146 patients in NSW hospitals, up from 1130 reported on Saturday. Of these, 58 are in intensive care and 21 on ventilation.
The latest fatalities include six men and a woman. Two were aged in their 60s, three in their 80s, one in their 90s and one aged over 100.
Five of the group were double-vaccinated, one single-vaccinated and one unvaccinated.
The deaths bring the NSW toll since the beginning of the pandemic to 1897.
Of the new cases recorded in the 24 hours to Saturday evening, 3816 were detected via rapid antigen tests and 2198 from PCR lab tests.
Elsewhere, more non-urgent elective surgery patients will be able to access services requiring an overnight stay in private hospitals from Monday.
NSW Health is lifting the cap to 85 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity in private hospitals before completely removing it on March 7.
Public hospitals are on track to perform up to 75 per cent of pre-pandemic elective surgeries or higher over the coming weeks.
More than 95 per cent of people aged 16 and over in NSW have received a first vaccine dose and 94.3 per cent are double-vaccinated. Almost 54 per cent have also had a booster shot.
Australian Associated Press
