Residents of Sydney to remain in lockdown until at least late September
The ongoing lockdown in Australia’s largest city has been extended until at least the end of September as tougher measures including a curfew and an outdoor mask mandate were imposed to slow the spread of Covid-19’s Delta variant.
New South Wales state, which includes Sydney, reported 642 locally acquired infections in the latest 24-hour period on Friday, the fourth consecutive day of tallies exceeding 600.
Sydney has been locked down since late June after the more contagious Delta variant was detected in a limousine driver who became infected while transporting a US cargo aircrew from Sydney Airport.
Since then, 65 people have died from Covid-19 in New South Wales, included four overnight.
The Sydney lockdown was to end on August 28, but the state government announced it will continue until September 30.
The entire state has been in lockdown since last week because the virus had spread from Sydney.
A curfew will apply from 9 pm to 5 pm from Monday in the worst-affected Sydney suburbs.
Wearing masks will be compulsory across the state outside homes, after previously masks were not compulsory in all circumstances outdoors.