“What we’re seeking to achieve is cases minimised as far as possible,preferably to zero,that are infectious in the community,” he said.

The national cabinet agreement,announced on August 6,holds that a state can start to ease restrictions once it reaches 70 per cent vaccination and when the national averagereaches 70 per cent. The deal suggests an end to lockdowns unless absolutely necessary once the twin target hits 80 per cent.

Asked if that applied even if NSW case numbers remained at 600 each day or half that number,Mr Morrison said he wanted the number to be as low as possible but did not put a measure on what that would mean.

The federal government expects NSW to reach the 70 per cent target in the middle of October if vaccine supplies increase as scheduled,with the national average reaching the target a few weeks later.

Mr Morrison said lockdowns were necessary but that the Delta strain of COVID-19 meant it was very difficult to eliminate the virus.

“That doesn’t mean you stop trying. That doesn’t mean you give up,” he said.

“It means you keep going and you keep going as hard as you can to keep it suppressed for as long as you can until we’re in that position where we’re hitting those higher targets.”

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews,who reported 57 case numbers on Thursday compared to 681 in NSW,held out the prospect of cutting the number to zero using the same lockdown regime that achieved that result last year.

“It took us from more than 700 cases a day to zero and it will work again,” he said.

Ms Berejiklian warned on Thursday morning that every state and territory leader had to accept they could not live in a “bubble” forever because it was no longer possible to achieve zero cases.

“To assume that forevermore there will be zero cases around Australia is,I think,an assumption that nobody can really make,” she said.

“We know that once you open up,once borders come down,once there’s the prospect of international travel,something we’re all looking forward to,we do need to co-exist with Delta.”

While Mr Morrison said that was a “realistic” assessment,WA Premier Mark McGowan argued that elimination was part of the objective.

“What’s happening with NSW is they’re deviating from the national plan,” he said.

“The national plan at the moment is you minimise or eliminate the spread of Delta. That is where we are at. And that’s what NSW should be doing.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Tuesdaythe national deal was based on research from the Doherty Institute that not only suggested the 70 per cent target but was premised on a situation with “very little COVID” in the community.

“That’s not the situation at the moment ... We are not at 70 per cent or 80 per cent yet,” she said.

Noting the 70 per cent target only meant lockdowns would be minimised,Ms Palaszczuk promised fewer restrictions rather than an end to them after the vaccination targets were reached.

Mr Frydenberg issued a blunt assessment on Thursday night about living with COVID-19 even when it led to deaths in the community.

“It’s a fallacy to talk about the elimination of COVID,” he told the ABC.

“Based on the medical advice today and what we know about the efficacy of the vaccines but also the transmissibility of the virus,we are going to be living with COVID for a number of years to come,with cases and of course with deaths and serious illness.

“And the idea is to get as many people vaccinated as possible to reduce and to mitigate that threat.

“We need to learn to live with COVID and we will do so once we start to hit those 70 and 80 per cent targets. The restrictions will ease,the economy will open back up and people will be able to have hope about the future.”

National cabinet meets at 1pm on Friday with an agenda that includes the vaccine rollout for children,evacuating refugees from Afghanistan and the capacity of the health system.