The national cabinet, a group of federal and state leaders, will meet later in the day against a backdrop of concerns by some states given the persistently high daily infections in Sydney even after two months under lockdown.

New South Wales recorded 882 new cases, most of them in state capital Sydney, down from the record 1,029 on Thursday as officials struggle to quell the Delta outbreak.

Two new deaths were reported, while 117 people are in intensive care, 103 of them unvaccinated.

Even as infections surge, state authorities revealed a staggered back-to-school plan from late October, when they expect its vaccination rate to hit 70 percent from 32 percent now.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would be focusing more on vaccination rates and the number of hospitalizations rather than daily case numbers as the rollout picks up speed.

"They are the two things that will matter even when we start to live life more freely at 70 percent and then obviously at 80 percent [...] we are starting to make that mind change in New South Wales," Berejiklian said during a televised media conference.

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