Australia's COVID-19 Delta outbreak worsens despite Sydney lockdown

SYDNEY: The prospect of an extended lockdown in Sydney loomed on Monday as Australian health officials reported yet another record daily rise in COVID-19 cases for the year, fuelled by the highly infectious Delta variant.

New South Wales state reported 112 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, almost all in Sydney, despite the country's biggest city entering its third week of lockdown. Case numbers have been at record levels for at least three days. There was, however, a glimmer of light as the number of newly-infected people who were out in the community while infectious dropped to 34 from 45 on Sunday.