New South Wales has recorded 1288 new local cases of COVID-19 as Australia's coronavirus crisis continues to worsen.
The state's health department also confirmed another seven people have died from the virus.
"NSW Health extends its deepest sympathies to their loved ones," it said in a statement.
"There have been 107 COVID-19 related deaths in NSW since 16 June 2021, and 163 in total since the start of the pandemic."
Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said there are now 957 people with COVID-19 in NSW hospitals. Of those, 160 people are in intensive care and 64 of whom require ventilation.
This comes after Victorian health authorities announced the state had 176 new local cases on Thursday.
Case numbers have continued to rise in recent days, from 120 cases on Wednesday - up from 76 the previous day.
The Victorian Department of Health confirmed the new cases on Thursday morning, which brings the state's active cases to 1029.
"Of the 176 locally acquired cases, 83 have been linked to known cases and outbreaks. Further case information will be provided this morning," it said in a statement.
More information on the cases is expected to be provided later in the day.
Victoria's Premier Dan Andrews on Wednesday conceded the state's Delta outbreak is highly unlikely to be eliminated.
He said the health advice had "fundamentally changed", ABC News reported.
"These last few days have seen a dramatic shift in the nature and the number of cases coming forward," Andrews said on Wednesday.
"The experts are very clear with us. We will not see these case numbers go down. They are going to go up."
Andrews said they are now trying to suppress case numbers for long enough to "buy us time".
