Australia's largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and the capital Canberra are in a weeks-long lockdown to combat a third wave of infections fuelled by the fast-moving Delta variant. Authorities have ditched a COVID-zero strategy and are looking at higher vaccination as their exit strategy from lockdowns. A total of 941 new cases were reported in New South Wales on Thursday, the majority in state capital Sydney, while Queensland recorded six and the Australian Capital Territory 31 infections. Despite the latest Delta outbreaks, total cases in Australia stand at around 105,000 and deaths at 1,291, well below other comparable nations. ($1 = 1.3778 Australian dollars)Reporting by Renju Jose; additional reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
