NSW is aiming to have six million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in arms by the end of the month as part of a push to get Greater Sydney out of lockdown.
But easing restrictions in September will depend on the case numbers, which even Premier Gladys Berejiklian admits are "anyone's guess".
NSW recorded 199 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday, 82 of which were in the community while infectious.
"I have to be honest about this - (we don't know yet) whether we're through the worst of it or not," Ms Berejiklian told reporters on Tuesday.
"There's clearly been a plateauing in the last week but we don't know if we'll see (the numbers) worsen before they get better."
An outbreak of the virulent Delta strain will keep Greater Sydney and surrounding regions in lockdown until at least August 28.
The government's willingness to ease the lockdown at the end of the month depends on vaccination rates and the case numbers.
But hitting the target of six million jabs - roughly equivalent to 50 per cent of the population - would not mean the state could fully open up.
Modelling provided to National Cabinet by the Doherty Institute and published on Tuesday suggests thousands would die if an uncontrolled outbreak occurred with 50 per cent vaccination coverage.
But Ms Berejiklian said NSW "would never completely relax" at that rate.
Just over four million doses have already been administered in NSW, with 42.23 per cent of those aged 16 and over receiving at least one dose and just under 20 per cent fully vaccinated.
Some 460,000 shots were administered in the past week alone.
The government wants vaccines concentrated in the eight south western and western Sydney local government areas identified as of highest concern.
The two priorities for easing restrictions are getting children back to school and getting parents back to work, Ms Berejiklian said, and the government is considering incentives for those who get vaccinated.
Instead of a cash payment suggested by the federal opposition, Ms Berejiklian said she is contemplating offering greater freedoms to the fully vaccinated.
"(People) want peace of mind that they can move more freely, send their kids to school, work, so any incentives around those things we think are great motivators," Ms Berejiklian said.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant urged people living in neighbourhoods near the LGAs of concern to also be on high alert.
"The disease has actually got the potential to creep," Dr Chant warned.
Meanwhile, a major Sydney hospital and two nursing homes are dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks.
Thirty-six staff at Westmead Hospital are in isolation after a vaccinated colleague who worked three shifts last week while infectious tested positive.
COVID-19 cases at Wyoming Nursing Home in Summer Hill on Tuesday rose to 19 residents and two staff members.
All residents on one floor at the Wyoming Nursing Home have been taken to hospital as a precaution.
The facility said in a statement on Tuesday that more than 80 per cent of its residents and staff are vaccinated.
Another contract staffer at another nursing home, St Hedwig Village at Blacktown, has also reportedly tested positive for the virus but no other cases have been identified so far.
The Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour area regions have been in lockdown since late June.
Since the outbreak began seven weeks ago in Bondi, 3832 people have contracted the virus and 15 people have died.
There are now 250 COVID-19 patients in Sydney hospitals, with 53 people in intensive care units and 20 people ventilated.
Australian Associated Press
