During a COVID-19 update on Friday, Mr Perrottet said he hoped to announce the economic support package next week and details were still being finalised by Treasurer Matt Kean.

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“I know exactly what the Treasurer is going through because I went through it for the last two years,” he said. “You consult, you work with industry groups, you work with businesses to identify the need, you consider it, and then you make the investments.”

The package is expected to be similar to the previous Job Saver assistance scheme that gave fortnightly payments for small and medium businesses. However, stricter eligibility rules are likely to apply under the targeted program. Other measures in the package could include business support grants, payroll tax abatement and waivers.

While business and industry groups have welcomed long-running consultation with the government, they say it has taken too long for stimulus measures to be reintroduced.

“This fourth wave of COVID has been the worst wave for the hospitality industry that is in a virtual lockdown,” Restaurant and Catering Australia chief executive Wes Lambert said.

Mr Lambert said small to medium restaurants and cafes were had experienced average revenue drops of 40-60 per cent, while for caterers and functions centres losses were as high as 80 per cent.

Meanwhile, ANZ-Roy Morgan data this week found consumer confidence has plunged to its lowest January result in three decades.

“We need a default plan in place for future waves ... as clearly high vaccination rates are not leading to living with COVID,” Mr Lambert said.

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns on Friday called on the government to ensure any business support package went far enough “to help businesses who have closed or haven’t been able to function during the shadow lockdown”.

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Mr Perrottet on Friday said there would be more difficult times as the outbreak continued, but said with cases and hospitalisations on the decline there was some hope the strain on the healthcare system would be less than the best-case scenario modelled.

“I completely expect, as we open schools, there will be difficulties like we had last year when we had to close schools at various points in time. I see that as a last resort,” he said.

“Ultimately, the key is being vaccinated and being boosted. We have to live in the world as it is, not as we want it to be and that creates difficulties in a global pandemic.”

Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said it was positive to see indicators that the spread of COVID was slowing in the community. However, she has previously said health authorities were expecting an uptick when school resumes.

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