No more 11am press conferences, Gladys Berejiklian announces

From the start of next week, the regularly scheduled 11am daily press conference from NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will stop.

Instead relevant coronavirus information will be given by staff at NSW Health via video link.

"Sunday will be the last day we officially do a press conference in this way," Ms Berejiklian said.

READ MORE: NSW records 1542 new coronavirus cases, nine deaths

"The (Health) Minister will intermittently hold press conferences as required."

She said she or other ministers will give press conferences to the community "on a needs basis".

"To expect the Leader of the Government indefinitely to do this every day means that I am not doing my job properly," she said.

"I need to make sure we have a good balance."

She said reporters will still see her "quite frequently".

"It may be three times a week instead of seven times a week," Ms Berejiklian said.

"I will speak every time there is something important to say."

LIVE UPDATES: Record number of infections in NSW

She knocked back the suggestion that she was "going into hiding".

"Can I just say clearly and loudly to the people of NSW, we will be here whenever we need to communicate something very important to the community," she said.

"If there is anything which the public needs to hear directly from government, whether it is myself, the Minister for health, the deputy premier, of course, we will do that."

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about NSW ending lockdown

The announcement represents a serious shake-up to the way the lockdown has been handled in NSW.

The daily press conference has become one of the few staples of NSW lockdown life – with its television ratings sometimes rivalling that of primetime programming.

There were 1542 local cases of coronavirus in NSW in the past 24 hours.

Ms Berejiklian said she expected cases to peak in the next week.

Nine deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours.

Seventy-six per cent of people in NSW have had their first dose, and 43.6 per cent have had their second shot.

"But as health experts have been saying, we are keen to see that first dose rate hit 80 and above and get as close to 90 as possible," Ms Berejiklian said.