NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian reports 35 new Covid cases as Sydney lockdown hits halfway mark

Queensland records five new local coronavirus cases as premier Annastacia Palaszczuk lifts Brisbane and Moreton Bay lockdown

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The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has declared the green shoots are there" in Sydney's Covid-19 outbreak despite the state recording another 35 cases of the virus, the highest daily count in more than a year.

At the halfway point of Sydney's two-week lockdown, the outbreak has grown to 261 cases since a Bondi limousine driver tested positive on 16 June, spreading from the city's eastern suburbs to new outbreaks of concern.