Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there were 110 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, with 43 in the community while infectious.

Ms Berejiklian said nearly 84,000 people were tested on Tuesday - the highest number of tests to date.

"This is a great result, and one we need to keep up in the next few weeks," she said.

"It means we are scooping up all the cases we can find.

"Had we not gone into the lockdown a couple of weeks ago, that number would undoubtedly been thousands and thousands. We have done well.

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"Our vaccination rates are so low and yet we have done so well in stemming the virus. Now we need to quash it."

The higher number of tests had helped to identity the "high number" of cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday.

NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty said there were 106 COVID-19 patients in hospital, 23 in intensive care, and 11 requiring ventilation.

"We are now seeing cases in Western Sydney increased," he said.

He responded to questioning on what triggers a lockdown in regional areas, after three local government areas entered strict restrictions in the Central West overnight, noting that the positive case who visited several locations in a busy shopping area had done so not knowing they had COVID-19.

"It's a government decision, of course, about when to put those measures in but we look at the risk to communities, has there been a case out in the community," he said.

"In the case of Orange, the person had been, unwittingly, out (while infectious)."

Ms Berejiklian said the approach for the regions is a "very targeted" one, and thanked the communities for their attitude in the face of restrictions.

"I really appreciate the way the regions have stepped up," she said.

"The reason the Central West is being dealt with in the way it is, is because it's a very targeted approach to allow regional NSW to live in relative freedom compared to what is going on."

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Deputy premier John Barilaro said the decision to lock down the regional centre of Orange and nearby shires for seven days was "a decision made on behalf of the citizens of the region", and was made with consultation with local mayors.

He urged people to remain vigilant, seek out vaccinations and get tested, with more clinics to be stood up. If everyone does the right thing, he was "confident" the regions would come out of the newly-imposed restrictions in seven days.

"Rural and regional NSW will continue to focus on getting vaccination rates up," Mr Barilaro said.

"Please, please, please go and get tested."

Whether the Sydney lockdown and statewide restrictions will come to an end on July 31 won't be known for some time yet, Ms Berejiklian said.

The impact of the recent, harsher restrictions won't be seen until at least the weekend.

"We won't know what July 31 looks like across NSW, including the regions, and across greater Sydney, until early next week," she said.