Australia tightens COVID curbs as Brisbane extends lockdown, army patrols Sydney

FILE PHOTO: A view of the city of Brisbane, Australia, July 4, 2021. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's Queensland state on Monday extended a COVID-19 lockdown in Brisbane, while soldiers began patrolling Sydney to enforce stay-at-home rules as Australia struggles to stop the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus spreading.

Queensland said it had detected 13 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours - the biggest one-day rise the state has recorded in a year. The lockdown of Brisbane, Australia's third-biggest city, was due to end on Tuesday but will now stay in place until late on Sunday.