Premier Gladys Berejiklian is urging more NSW residents to be tested for COVID-19 to give the government the confidence it needs to lift restrictions.
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The state has recorded zero new locally-acquired cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday, for the second day in a row.
Some 10,621 were tested in that 24-hour period, slightly more than the 8,773 the previous day. The daily record for NSW was set at more than 60,000 tests just before Christmas.
Low daily testing numbers are an "increasing concern", NSW Health says.
"For us to have confidence to ease restrictions, we need to ...see those testing rates go up, so we have confidence that we haven't missed any cases of strains of the virus undetected in the community," Ms Berejiklian told reporters in Tweed Heads on Tuesday.
The government looks at both case numbers and testing rates when looking at easing restrictions, the premier said.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard added that the call to testing includes people in the regions, warning that "this virus can be anywhere".
Two cases were recorded in hotel quarantine in the 24-hour period, both acquired overseas.
As case numbers continue their lull, the government is preparing to roll out its the key plank of its economic stimulus plan.
Local businesses can now sign up to join the state's Dine & Discover program, which will give NSW residents four $25 vouchers to spend at hospitality venues, cultural institutions and other businesses.
The invitation to register comes ahead of the program's pilot and broader rollout.
The pilot will kick off in Sydney's The Rocks and Broken Hill next month, followed closely by the northern beaches, Sydney's CBD and the Bega Valley Shire Council.
All NSW residents should be able to use the vouchers by March, with the program wrapping up in June.
Meanwhile, NSW Police confirmed with AAP they were investigating a party in North Bondi on Sunday evening which may have breached virus restrictions after a video showed a large group dancing near the beach.
Commissioner Mick Fuller on Tuesday told 2GB radio that police would continue to take such complaints seriously.
"If you're sitting at home doing the right thing, listening to the messaging ... why aren't these people?" Mr Fuller said.
"If we don't take those type of complaints seriously then we'll get complacency in the community, people won't wear masks, they won't do the right thing."
Mr Fuller also admitted it was likely that coronavirus-prompted restrictions would persist in some form in NSW for most of 2021.
New public health alerts have been issued for the Village Tavern in Auburn for several dates in January and December, the Berala Hotel on December 30 and the Auburn Hotel on January 12.
People who attended the venues on those dates are asked to immediately get tested and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
Victoria fully opened its border to 16 local government areas in southern NSW from 6pm on Monday and has eased restrictions for visitors from all but 10 local government areas in Greater Sydney.
Those visitors are required to seek testing upon arrival in Victoria and self-isolate until they receive a negative result but will not be barred entry.
Australian Associated Press
