The announcement comes the day after 233 cases and two deaths - a man in his 20s and a woman in his 80s - were revealed by state premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday.

More than 107,000 tests were carried out on Wednesday, and 262 new cases of the virus were confirmed to 8pm.

"I do sadly have to report five people lost their lives to COVID... in the last 24 hours," Ms Berejiklian said at the Thursday morning update.

Three were in theirs 60s, one was in their 70s and one was in their 80s, Ms Berejiklian said, extending her condolences to their families.

"I do also want to convey that four our of those five people were not vaccinated at all, and one person had one doze of AstraZeneca," she said.

Fragments of the virus have been detected in several areas of the state, including Dubbo and Armidale, and the Hunter region will go into a seven-day lockdown after cases emerged.

"There have been cases in that region and as a result, similar to what occurred in Orange, there will be a one-week lockdown in the Hunter and Upper Hunter," Ms Berejiklian said.

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Ms Berejiklian said testing overnight had revealed there were "some cases" in the Hunter but did not immediately specify how many had been detected.

All Hunter LGAs including Dungog will fall under the harsher restrictions as seen in greater Sydney. The orders will come into place at 5pm on Thursday, though chief health officer Kerry Chant urged people to start following them now.

Dr Kerry Chant said five people were being cared for in the Hunter and investigations were underway, but they believed the source of infection was a Lake Macquarie gathering.

Officials are urging the regions to be on higher alert after the regional sewage detections.

"The levels in sewage have become higher and we are concerned there may be active cases in Armidale," she said.

"Obviously we are very concerned about regional NSW and that's why we have protections in place for regional NSW in terms of mask-wearing.

"I know that there's probably been lots of reports and police have responded lots of times to communities highlighting where people are in breach.

"We are very concerned and that's why no-one can be complacent."

In the Riverina, residents have slammed the idea that the diversion of vaccines to Sydney is about "repaying a favour", saying it's left them feeling like second-class citizens.

In a recent newspaper column, Deputy Premier John Barilaro said when regional communities battled drought, bushfires and now the global pandemic, "our city cousins" rolled up their sleeves to help.

Mr Barilaro said it is time for regional NSW to "repay the favour" by supporting the move to redistribute vaccines so year 12 students can get the jab. But residents say the choice has left them with "no control" and feeling left behind.

Their concerns come as COVID appears to have leaked out of Sydney into the regions, with several schools in the central coast and Newcastle area closing after cases emerged.

Ms Berejiklian highlighted on Wednesday her serious concerns over waste testing in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley revealing "very high" viral loading.

Three schools in the region have since closed after saying they were informed of confirmed cases among the student population. The University of Newcastle has also advised staff and students of a confirmed case on Callaghan campus.

More on the pandemic:

The federal government has also announced it will reimburse the Hunter for Pfizer doses that were redirected to Sydney.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 185,000 doses will be sent to the state over the next two weeks, after about 40,000 were taken out of NSW for Year 2 students.

In the Riverina, almost one in five people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, new data has revealed.

The deaths announced on Thursday morning were all Sydney residents.

Two men in their 60s from the city's south west died in Campbelltown Royal Prince Alfred hospitals, while one man in the same age bracket from western Sydney died in Westmead Hospital.

An inner west man aged in his 70s passed away in Concord General Repatriation Hospital and a woman in her 80s succumbed to illness in Liverpool hospital.

Fifty-one people are in intensive care - 24 requiring ventilation - and a total of 290 people are in NSW hospitals with the virus.

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