NSW records four deaths, nearly 1300 new COVID cases

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said: "There's stabilisation across rural and regional NSW, but western NSW remains a concern."

A man in his 50s in Dubbo, a woman in her 60s, and two men in their 70s passed away overnight.

Eighty per cent of the day's cases were still in western and southwest Sydney.

Meanwhile deputy premier John Barilaro has revealed the first restrictions likely to ease as the vaccination rate climbs.

Outdoor dining and retail could reopen by mid-October, he said, but the caveat was that the area must be a declared low risk zone with a vaccination rate of 70 per cent.

Since this outbreak began mid-June, there have been 93 COVID-19 related deaths in NSW and 149 in total since the start of the pandemic.

There are currently 840 cases in hospital, with 137 people in ICU and 48 on ventilators.

On the good news front, more than 157,00 people turned out for testing in the 24 hours to 8pm Sunday, Ms Berejiklian said. Also, almost 50,000 vaccines were administered across the state.