Murrumbidgee Local Health District records 684 new COVID-19 cases, five die across NSW

The Murrumbidgee Local Health District [MLHD] recorded 135 positive cases from PCR tests and 549 from rapid antigen tests for a total of 684 in the 24 hours to 4pm on Wednesday, NSW Health has revealed.

Five women in NSW - three in their 70s and two in their 90s - died in the same time period, bringing the number of lives lost to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic to 2001.

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The MLHD's 684 cases, while not the highest on record thanks to a processing error causing an inflated 1141 cases reported on Wednesday, represents the largest cohort of fresh detections since the height of the Omicron outbreak in January.

Excluding Wednesday's case numbers, NSW hasn't recorded a day with more than 20,000 cases since January 26 when 21,030 infections were recorded.

Health professionals in Wagga are urging anyone who is eligible for a booster to come forward as soon as possible, particularly in the face of rising local cases.

Just shy of two-thirds of Wagga residents who are able to do so have sought a third vaccine jab.

"As a community, Wagga has always been very keen to do the right thing and I think we need to up the notch a bit," Dr Ayman Shenouda, from Glenrock Country Practice, said.

"It's very important because we're getting into winter and we know the virus thrives in winter."

He also warned about the risk of flu during the colder months, saying we don't want to "create a double whammy with flu and COVID".

More than 2100 people in the Wagga local government area are registered as active cases, according to the MLHD's latest data.

There were 11 people admitted to the health service's hospitals for COVID treatment as of Wednesday.