Newly reported cases of COVID-19 have dropped across the state today, on the same day as statewide hospitalisations fall to their lowest since the beginning of the year.

Up to 4pm yesterday (Wednesday 3 March), there were 9466 positive tests reported, including just over 6050 RATs and 3,416 PCR tests.

There has now been a total of 413,297 positive RATs recorded since reporting began on 13 January 2022.

356 of these were located in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD), split between 120 positive PCR results and 236 RAT results across multiple Western Plains areas.

Following further investigation by NSW Health, 26 COVID-19 cases detected by PCR tests have been excluded and 340 cases previously reported as RAT-positive have been confirmed as PCR-positive cases, bringing the total number of cases detected by PCR tests in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 938,224.

There are currently 1,000 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital across the state, including 42 people in intensive care, 18 of whom are being ventilated.

This has been the lowest number of people hospitalised due to COVID since Monday 3 January, when there were 1,204 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 95 people in intensive care and 25 on ventilation.

At this time in WNSWLHD, there were seven people in hospital across the district and one in ICU.

This number is not far off from the most recent reporting of 11 patients in WNSWLHD hospitals and one in ICU.

NSW Health officials maintain vaccination remains the best way to keep as many COVID patients as possible out of hospital.

As of the end of Wednesday 3 March, more than 95 per cent of people in NSW aged 16 and over have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 94.4 per cent have received two doses.