A staggering 584 cases were picked up by PCR testing and another 250 people returned positive rapid antigen tests across the Murrumbidgee Local Health District [MLHD] in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday.

The total of 834 new COVID detections is just shy of the record set last week, when 839 were revealed on Friday.

More than 10,000 cases have been detected in the health district in the last four weeks, with NSW Health data indicating 9226 people were diagnosed through PCR testing alone.

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The state has recorded another 32 deaths, NSW Health announced on Wednesday morning, bringing the death toll in NSW to 953 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Among those lost to the virus were 20 men and 12 women, ranging in ages from their 40s to their 90s.

In Wagga, there are reports of aged care facilities battling COVID outbreaks, with The Forrest Centre confirming at one point it was down 30 staff and one resident has been hospitalised.

The outbreak started a little over a week ago, according to chief executive Evan Robertson, and it is its first experience with the virus since the pandemic began.

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The centre is not alone, with Omicron serving as a burden to local businesses that are suffering at the hands of staff shortages due to isolation requirements.

Moorong Veterinary Clinic co-owner Rose McKean had more than half of her staff in isolation in one week, leaving her with only three vets and four nurses to operate the business.

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