Premier of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), Gladys Berejiklian has announced a record-breaking number of new COVID-19 cases on Saturday as 825 new cases were recorded overnight - the highest number of daily infections since the beginning of the pandemic.
At least 58 positive cases were infectious in the community before diagnosed whilst three elderly NSW residents have lost their battle with the deadly virus, bringing the total number of C0VID-related deaths to 68 since 16 June, and the total number of lives lost to 124 since the pandemic started.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed on Friday that Greater Sydney's lockdown would be extended until the end of September, as restrictions are tightened even further across the state.
Face masks will be mandatory across NSW from 12.01am on Monday except during exercise, and residents of the 12 local government areas (LGAs) of concern will face a 9pm to 5am curfew.
Residents of the LGAs of concern will be limited to one hour of exercise only per day, whilst more retail stores are forced to close and police powers are extended.
"We urge everyone to come forward. I understand we have had 130,000 bookings with the extra Pfizer vaccine that we have received," Ms Berejiklian said as the virus continues to spread throughout the state.
Fragments of the virus have been detected by NSW Health's COVID-19 sewage programme in treatment plants in Orange and Lithgow, although there have been no positive cases recorded in Orange or Lithgow recently.
The Orange sewage plant serves close to 40,000, while the Lithgow sewage plant serves around 12,000 people.