NSW has recorded 1,331 new Covid-19 cases and six deaths overnight as residents enjoyed the first weekend of picnics after outdoor gathering restrictions were eased.
Sydneysiders made the most of their relaxed cap on outdoor gatherings to exercise and catch up with friends on Saturday.
On Monday, outdoor gatherings were eased allowing up to five vaccinated people to gather if they were living outside the 12 local government areas of concern.
Residents living in the LGAs are only allowed to leave with members of their household - and for only two hours at a time.
Police have also increased their presence across Sydney ahead of planned anti-lockdown rallies on Saturday.
Officers arrived at Sydney Park, in St Peters, in busloads and were ready on cycles and on foot to prevent demonstrators massing, as a police operation blocked several roads in the area.
Bystanders say they saw several buses, reserved for police, parked around the area. Officers were also seen riding bicycles and monitoring on foot.
The police presence was described as a 'ring of steel', the phrase used throughout the pandemic to describe operations preventing unwanted movement of the public along major roads.
Police also focused on another possible protest site nearby, at Victoria Park, where they managed to break up an anti-lockdown protest before it gained any momentum last month.
NSW is also gearing up to test a pilot home-quarantine program that, if successful, could expedite the return of international arrivals
The new cases come as police prepared arrived at Sydney Park, in the inner west, ahead of planned anti-lockdown rallies
NSW police promised an equally 'highly visible' operation to prevent protesters from gathering in large numbers for another march.
Metropolitan Field Operations deputy commissioner Mal Lanyon also said police would be ready to respond to any last-minute location changes.
'We are continuing to monitor online commentary and have put in place an extremely mobile police operation with significant resources, to respond to whatever situation we are faced with,' he said.
Meanwhile the leaderless anti-lockdown protests in NSW are diverting an enormous amount of police resources that could otherwise be used to help with the COVID-19