Australian authorities have extended the lockdown in Sydney by at least 14 days, after three weeks of initial restrictions failed to stamp out the biggest outbreak of Covid-19 this year in the country's largest city. reports Reuters.

New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said restrictions would need to remain in place until at least July 30 after she reported 97 new locally transmitted cases, a slight increase from a day earlier.

"It always hurts to say this, but we need to extend the lockdown at least [for] further two weeks," Berejiklian said in Sydney. "We want to get out of this lockdown as soon as we can and that is why we have the settings in place that we have."

The shutdown has now been extended on two occasions and total infections since the first was initially detected in the city's eastern suburbs in mid-June now stand at just under 900. Two deaths have been reported, the first for the country this year.