Health Minister Brad Hazzard is not ruling out a lockdown for regional areas as the number of Covid infections soar across the state ahead of Christmas.
Almost two million Covid alerts have been issued by Service NSW over the past fortnight as health authorities scramble to contain the state s rising case numbers - forcing thousands into isolation.
NSW has reported 804 Covid cases in the past 24 hours - in an extraordinary surge in case numbers. It is the highest number of daily cases since September 7.
At least five cruise passengers have tested positive for COVID-19, with NSW Health warning that two of the cases are "likely" to be of the Omicron variant.