Australia’s most populous state declares ‘national emergency’ over Covid outbreak

New South Wales announces 136 new local Delta cases with Sydney under the strictest lockdown measures it has experienced

Australia's most populous state has declared a national emergency" as it struggles to contain a record-breaking surge of the Delta variant of Covid-19 amid a lockdown affecting half the country.

The state of New South Wales announced 136 new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 on Friday, with continued community transmission among essential workers, including in supermarkets and pharmacies.