NSW has recorded 231 new cases of COVID-19 and no deaths, as the government mulls which emergency pandemic powers to extend.
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The new cases were recorded from 88,104 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, the second day the state has had no COVID deaths in nearly three months.
Some 207 people remain in hospital, with 33 in intensive care and 15 ventilated.
Meanwhile, Premier Dominic Perrottet has postponed a decision on extending the state's emergency pandemic powers until next year.
A set of tweaks made to the state's Public Health Act for the COVID-19 pandemic are due to expire in March 2022.
They make it easier for health officials to order someone who's a risk to public health into quarantine, without the need for a quick tribunal order.
The amendments also give police the power to arrest or fine people who breach public health laws or orders, or to order them to hand over their name and address.
With cabinet's approval, Health Minister Brad Hazzard this week sought to extend those provisions for an extra year.
But the changes are now on ice after concerns were raised in the party room.
The premier now says he will consider the issue over the Christmas break.
He told reporters he would only extend the health provisions he deems "absolutely necessary".
But he warned the pandemic was not over, with case numbers and hospitalisations likely to increase, as they are in Europe with winter approaching.
"I, like anyone, wants to make sure that we have government out of the way, but at the same time we've got to keep the protection and the healthcare of people right across our state," Mr Perrottet said.
Police Minister David Elliott said he did not want to see officers continue to have the power to fine people for COVID-19 breaches.
"The police don't like these powers because these powers mean that we're in a pandemic," he said.
Mr Hazzard on Tuesday night rejected suggestions he was seeking to drastically expand the powers given to the health minister.
"Far from granting additional powers, the powers are exactly the same as exist now and are simply tweaks on timing for two provisions in the massive Public Health Act," he said in a statement.
The health minister's powers to issue public health orders, such as the orders for people to wear masks and to restrict gatherings, predates the COVID-19 pandemic and would not be affected by Mr Hazzard's proposed changes.
Meanwhile, there's a suggestion NSW residents should get two extra Dine and Discover vouchers - to be worth more if they're used mid-week.
Urban policy think tank Committee for Sydney has made the proposal in a paper suggesting ways to reboot the city's events sector.
Businesses are reporting high demand between Thursday and Saturday, but relatively low demand for the rest of the week, the paper says.
Pumping up the value of the voucher for mid-week spending would mean they're not being used for outings that would have happened anyway.
The Committee for Sydney's director of corporate affairs, Matt Levinson, said the events sector never got a chance to recover after last year's lockdown and its troubles have only been compounded this year.
"The Sydney we know and love is roaring back, let's make sure the city's buzzing events scene is bang in the middle of that recovery," he said.
The organisation also wants the government to address labour shortages, remove density limits, and underwrite a reinsurance scheme that would cover communicable disease.
Australian Associated Press
