Australia extends Sydney lockdown as COVID-19 outbreak nears 900 infections

FILE PHOTO: A lone man walks up a deserted street in the city centre during a lockdown to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Sydney, Australia, July 12, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

SYDNEY (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.