Speaking at the 11am press conference (Monday, September 6), Mr Barilaro said of the 21 cases, nine were from the Wollongong Local Government Area, eight from the Shoalhaven and four from Shellharbour.

"The Illawarra Shoalhaven is starting to become a concern," he said.

The news come after the Shoalhaven recorded two cases on Friday and a further two cases on Saturday.

Mr Barilaro revealed a further three cases were also detected in Southern NSW at Queanbeyan and Googong areas and two in Goulburn.

Two further cases were also detected after 8pm Sunday in Batemans Bay and Cooma.

Five more people have died from COVID-19 in NSW as the state braces for what premier Gladys Berejiklian has outlined will be a tough time for cases and hospitalisations.

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More than 136,000 people were tested across NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm Sunday, with the premier confirming 1281 new cases as she delivered the daily COVID update on Monday morning.

"According to the modelling I have received, we are likely to reach a peak in cases in the next week or so," Ms Berejiklian said.

"Therefore our likely peak in intensive care beds required around early, mid-October. So that is what the best modelling tells us at this stage, but I do want to qualify that by saying that a number of variables are associated with that modelling."

More to come

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