NSW Health is urging people from a list of eight areas to present themselves for coronavirus testing if they’re showing symptoms.

The state’s chief medical officer, Dr Kerry Chant, told reporters on Tuesday there have been 49 new cases of the virus in NSW. That’s down from 57 the day before.

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Dr Chant said there had been about 2100 tests conducted in the past 24 hours but is now imploring residents in certain areas to get tested.

View photos A person receives a COVID-19 test at the Bondi Beach drive-through. Source: Getty Images More

“We take this opportunity to encourage people to come forward for testing if they've got symptoms in the areas Waverley, Woollahra, Dee Why, Lake Macquarie, Manning Point, Nowra, Byron Bay and Port Macquarie,” Dr Chant said.

“In those areas, we have seen a case, or cases, of local transmission where we haven't been able to find the source.

“It is important at this time as we try and suppress the numbers of COVID-19 in the community that we basically elevate and raise testing levels in the vicinity of those areas, geographical areas, and we assure ourselves that we're not missing more broad-based transmission in those communities.”

The eight areas in NSW concerning officials

Waverley

Woollahra

Dee Why

Lake Macquarie

Manning Point

Nowra

Byron Bay

Port Macquarie

Calls for ‘high levels of vigilance’

Dr Chant added authorities “don't have any indication of broad-based outbreaks” in the areas she mentioned but she wanted to stress “high levels of vigilance” are needed.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the number of new cases in the state continues to "stabilise and even decline".

According to the Department of Health, symptoms include coughing, fever, fatigue, shortness of breath and sore throat.

The one thing to remember

NSW Health also recently released a list of 13 virus hotspots, which included Port Macquarie, Waverley and Dee Why.

People infected with coronavirus who initially don’t show symptoms, those who never developed symptoms or others who brushed off theirs as something else may be responsible for the concern for the aforementioned areas, Professor Dr Catherine Bennett, Inaugural Chair of Epidemiology at Deakin University, told Yahoo News Australia.

It has been reported that a large portion of people who catch the virus have mild symptoms, while others suffer none at all but are still contagious.

A recent study has shown people who have the virus can spread it to numerous others during a crucial one-to-three day period before they start showing symptoms.

View photos NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant is urging people showing symptoms in a number of areas in NSW to get COVID-19 testing. Source: AAP More

“One thing we must remember is that we are seeing cases once they are reported and not when they first become cases, and for community unlinked cases there is likely to be an even longer lag time from exposure to illness to eventually getting tested than there was for travellers who were actively screened,” Dr Bennett said.

“Then there is another 3-4 days or so to get the results.”

View photos A man seeks coronavirus testing at a pop up clinic at Bondi Pavilion. Source: Getty Images More

Chief medical officer’s number one concern