Sydney adds four weeks to lockdown as Australia COVID-19 cases grow

Patrolling police officers check ID information of people working out at a Bondi Beach outdoor gym area during a lockdown to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Sydney, Australia, July 27, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's biggest city, Sydney, extended a lockdown by four weeks on Wednesday after an already protracted stay-at-home order failed to douse a COVID-19 outbreak, with authorities warning of tougher policing to stamp out non-compliance.

Far from a planned exit from lockdown in three days, the city of 5 million people and neighbouring regional centres spanning 200 km (120 miles) of coastline were told to stay home until Aug. 28 following persistently high case numbers since a flare-up of the virulent Delta variant began last month.