Sydney extends lockdown to September end, Will continue in NZ

In Australia, a lockdown in the largest city Sydney has been extended to the end of September as authorities struggle to contain a wave of Delta cases of COVID 19. The city's five million residents have been under stay-at-home orders since late June.Infections have more than doubled in the past week. There were 642 new cases on Friday, after 681 on Thursday. From Monday, two million residents in the city's worst-hit suburbs will live under a daily curfew.  Sydney remains the biggest concern. So far, its outbreak has killed 65 people. Australia has recorded 971 deaths from Covid, fewer than many nations.

Currently over half of Australia's 25 million people are living in lockdown, amid Delta outbreaks also in Melbourne and Canberra. Residents in Melbourne on Thursday marked their 200th day of lockdown since the pandemic began. Vaccinations have picked up in recent weeks. More than a quarter of Australians are fully vaccinated.