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NSW has recorded 2501 new COVID-19 cases, down from 2566 on Sunday, as eminent researchers urge a rethink on mask-wearing and big parties before Christmas.

There are 261 people in hospital, up from 227 on Sunday. At the peak of the Delta outbreak in September, there were 1266 people in hospital. At the same time there were 244 people in intensive care wards, compared to 33 on Monday.

People queue at the St Vincent’s Bondi Beach COVID testing clinic on Friday.Credit:Getty

While some health experts favour a more conservative approach towards restrictions, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has emphasised the need for personal responsibility.

Sharon Lewin, the Doherty Institute director who advised on the national plan to roll back public health restrictions, has called for large gathering at pubs and nightclubs to cease and a return of mask wearing indoors.

“We should bring back some restrictions on how people mix for a few weeks, while we get more information on Omicron’s severity and its ability to evade vaccines,” she said.

On Sunday, Mr Perrottet pointed to the low numbers of intensive care admissions in resisting calls for the reinstatement of a mask wearing mandate.

He said NSW has “always struck the right balance” and is ultimately “in a very strong place”.

Mr Perrottet said it's up to individuals to have “personal responsibility” and use masks when it made sense to do so, as rising case numbers become the “new normal”.

“The government can’t do everything,” he said. “It’s over to the people of our state.”

Federal Labor's government services spokesman Bill Shorten said individuals should be "cautious".

“I think it is up to us to have some personal responsibility here,” he told Nine’s Today show on Monday. “So with Christmas just around the corner, just be cautious I think is the word of the day. And mask up if you need to be in big social settings.”

Professor John Kaldor from the University of NSW Kirby Institute said the national reopening plan should not change in broad terms.

"Every plan need to be responsive to changes in circumstances, and what we've seen with COVID is that there are twists and turns that are unexpected," he told ABC radio.

NSW has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, which politicians and health authorities said was the pathway out of the pandemic.

Booster shots are available five months after the second dose.

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