Morrison: NSW fighting 'toughest' COVID fight

Australia's most populous state on Tuesday reported a daily record of 356 new COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began last year.

The New South Wales government also reported four more COVID-19 deaths bringing the death toll since the latest outbreak was detected in Sydney in mid-June to 32.

One of the latest deaths, a man in his 80s, had been infected overseas, while the rest caught the virus locally.

More than 80% of New South Wales' population of 8.2 million were in lockdown, including the Greater Sydney region.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra that the state is fighting the "toughest of all those fights and there's a lot at stake."

The Sydney lockdown began on June 26, but hopes are fading with the growing numbers of infections that restrictions will be eased as planned on Aug. 28.

Only 22% of Australian adults had been fully vaccinated by Monday.

Officials hope that boosting that vaccinated proportion above 70% will enable restrictions to be eased even if virus is continuing to spread.

Australia has successfully stamped out all COVID-19 clusters with lockdowns and targeted restrictions since the pandemic began, but the highly contagious delta variant is proving more difficult to defeat.