Australians may face longer lockdown after mass protest as COVID cases rise

The outbreak, which began in June, is being driven by the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus.

Melbourne: Australia`s New South Wales logged its second-highest daily increase in locally acquired COVID-19 cases of the year on Sunday amid fears of a wave of new infections after thousands of people joined an anti-lockdown protest. "In relation to yesterday`s protests, can I say how absolutely disgusted I was. It broke my heart," Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of the country`s most populous state, told reporters. "I hope it won`t be a setback, but it could be," she said.