Australia's state of Queensland has recorded one locally acquired coronavirus infection today (Sunday) in the latest streak of small outbreaks that have been plaguing the country in recent months.

The Queensland case comes as a cluster of the highly infectious Delta variant has grown by two cases to nine in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, prompting health officials to expand mask wearing rules.

"We know this strain, which is becoming the dominant strain, is extremely contagious and some people are spreading it more than others, and what we want to avoid at this stage is a super spreading event," New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

Australia has struggled with the vaccination rollout, and states have been plagued in recent months by small outbreaks, kept from spreading out of control through speedy contact tracing, isolation of thousands of people at a time, or snap-hard lockdowns.

Read the full Reuters story here.