NSW recorded 89 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and the death of a man in his 70s.
The man was a resident of Sydney's eastern suburbs and was a confirmed case.
Twenty-one of Tuesday's new cases were infectious in the community, and the isolation status of four cases remains under investigation.
Fifty-five cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period and nine cases were in isolation for part of their infectious period.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said unless the numbers of those infectious in the community were down to zero or close to zero, lockdown would not be lifted.
She hoped to make an announcement about the lockdown later on Tuesday or Thursday "at the latest".
Addressing the drop in new cases compared to the 112 on Monday, Ms Berejiklian said the numbers would continue to vary.
“One day is not a trend. The numbers will keep bouncing around,” she said.
“The key message is stay home, do not leave your home unless you absolutely have to, and if you do need to leave your home for essential work, if you live in the Fairfield local government area, please get tested every three days.”
Seventy-five of the new cases are linked to known cases, including 59 which are household contacts and 16 close contacts.
Ms Berejiklian said the numbers showed transmission was occurring largely between family members.
“Again, it reinforces the message that every time you risk going outside and doing the wrong thing, you risk bringing the virus home to those you love the most and that is what the data is telling us.”
There were 65 people admitted to hospital, with 21 in intensive care, four of whom require ventilation.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said there were several young patients in intensive care with no underlying health conditions.
"The key message for the community is young people can get ill and you do not need underlying health conditions."
A new case has also been recorded in Goulburn, with a man infectious on a work site on 9 July. He has been isolating since 10 July.
Essential workers who live in the Fairfield area, which is currently a hotspot and under lockdown measures, will be required to undertake a test every three days from the end of Friday.
They will not have to isolate while the test results return but anyone with symptoms will have to.
From the end of Sunday, there will also be mandatory COVID-19 testing for essential workers moving into regional areas outside Greater Sydney every seven days.
