Lockdown rules were tightened in three more local council areas in Sydney, limiting the movement of people to within 5 km (3 miles) of their homes. NSW on Thursday reported 345 new locally acquired cases, most of them in Sydney, up from 344 a day earlier. Several regional towns scattered across NSW have also been forced into snap lockdowns after fresh cases, raising fears the virus is spreading out of control.ĭespite seven weeks of lockdown in Sydney, daily infections continue to hover near record highs. Some 580 unarmed army personnel are already helping police enforce home-quarantine orders on affected households in the worst-affected suburbs of Sydney, Australia's most populous city. 'We are making sure that we do not leave any stone unturned in relation to extra (military) resources,' New South Wales (NSW) state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at a media conference in Sydney, the state capital.Ī spokesperson for Defence Minister Peter Dutton told Reuters the NSW government has indicated it would soon formally request additional military support.

The move comes as Australia's capital city, Canberra, 260 km (160 miles) southwest of Sydney, announced a snap one-week lockdown from Thursday evening after reporting its first locally acquired case of COVID-19 in more than a year.Īustralia is battling to get on top of the fast-moving Delta strain that has plunged two of its largest cities - Sydney and Melbourne - into hard lockdowns. Extra Australian military personnel may be called in to ensure compliance with lockdown rules in Sydney, the New South Wales state government said on Thursday, as the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant spreads into regional areas.

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