Sydney extends lockdown as COVID-19 outbreak nears 900 infections

SYDNEY, July 14 (Reuters)-Australian authorities extended a lockdown in Sydney on Wednesday by at least 14 days after three weeks of initial restrictions failed to stamp out the biggest outbreak of COVID-19 this year in the country’s largest city.

New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said restrictions would remain in place until at least July 30 after reporting 97 new locally transmitted cases, a slight increase from a day earlier. “It always hurts to say this, but we need to extend the lockdown at least a further two weeks,” Berejiklian said in Sydney on Wednesday. Since the first case of the outbreak was detected near the famous Bondi Beach in mid-June, the shutdown has been extended twice. Total infections across the harbour city of 5 million now stand at just under 900 and two deaths have been reported, the first for the country this year.