Australia’s New South Wales flags lockdown extension after record cases

SYDNEY (Reuters) – The leader of Australia’s New South Wales state on Friday said lockdown restrictions in state capital Sydney would have to be extended beyond July 16 unless there is a “dramatic change”, as the state reported its biggest rise in local cases for the year.

“New South Wales is facing the biggest challenge we have faced since the pandemic started,” state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Christopher Cushing)