New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s worst-hit state by the Covid-19 pandemic, on Thursday reported a new record in daily confirmed cases, leading the government to extend the regions placed under lockdown.
The NSW Health on Thursday recorded 262 new locally acquired cases, reports Xinhua news agency.
The source of infection for 133 of the new cases is still under investigation and at least 45 have been infectious while in the community.
The previous daily record was 241 cases reported on August 1.
The state also recorded five more deaths, including three people aged in their 60s, one in the 70s, and one in the 80s.
Four of the victims were unvaccinated and one had received one of the two required doses.
The death toll in the latest outbreak is 21.
In announcing the statistics, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she could not “stress enough how it’s so important for everybody of all ages to come forward and get the vaccine”.
With the escalating crisis, new lockdown restrictions will be enforced in the state’s Hunter region until August 13.
The region is in the north of Greater Sydney, which has already been in lockdown since June 26.
The lockdowns mean residents must remain at home unless for essential reasons and cannot have visitors, including extended family members.