Australia has reported 2,029 new Covid-19 infections, up from Sunday, even as its two most populous states remain under extended lockdowns and vaccination rates rise, Reuters reports.

State officials have blamed the recent spike in cases on Australian Rules football final parties, which breached lockdown rules the previous weekend.

Nearly half of the new cases were people between the ages of 10 and 29.

A lone woman, wearing a protective face mask, walks across a city centre bridge as the state of Victoria looks to curb the spread of a coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne, Australia, July 16. — Reuters
A lone woman, wearing a protective face mask, walks across a city centre bridge as the state of Victoria looks to curb the spread of a coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne, Australia, July 16. — Reuters

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