Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong has entered a COVID-19 lockdown for two weeks in response to a growing virus outbreak. Four local government areas (LGAs) in Sydney had already been subjected to “stay at home orders”, but as the ultra-transmissible Delta COVID-19 variant spreads, authorities have taken more drastic action. A swathe of new social distancing restrictions have …

The number of COVID-19 cases in Sydney’s Bondi cluster has risen to 21, after NSW Health confirmed 10 new infections in its latest update. The increasing number of cases has led NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to extend the state’s mask mandate for all indoor public venues to 12:01am on Thursday, July 1. “We will extend it to all of Greater Sydney …

Denmark’s team doctor says Christian Eriksen’s heart had stopped and that “he was gone” before being resuscitated with a defibrillator at the European Championship. Eriksen collapsed during Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 group game against Finland on Saturday and was given lengthy medical treatment before regaining consciousness. “He was gone,” said team doctor Morten Boesen, who led the work in giving Eriksen treatment …

An aged care worker at a facility in Melbourne’s west has been diagnosed with COVID-19, sending the home into lockdown. The worker at Arcare Maidstone was one of five locally acquired COVID-19 cases across Victoria reported Saturday. The healthcare worker was not showing symptoms when she last worked at the home on May 27, but later tested positive, Arcare said. …

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged NSW residents to avoid unnecessary travel to Victoria as the state deals with a growing COVID-19 outbreak. The Victorian coronavirus outbreak reached 26 cases this morning — with 11 new infections recorded overnight — and the state is expected to enter lockdown for at least a week. Ms Berejiklian said she was “worried about the evolving situation” …

The Victorian government will announce a lockdown today in a bid to curb the state’s growing coronavirus outbreak, with senior government sources telling the ABC it will last for at least seven days. The state’s outbreak has now reached 26 cases, with 11 new cases recorded overnight. One additional case included in those figures was announced during Wednesday’s coronavirus briefing. …

Victorian health authorities have reported two “likely positive cases” of COVID-19 in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. “It’s currently understood the two individuals are connected,” the Department of Health said in a tweet. “A full investigation is underway into these results, and initial public health actions are being put in place while both individuals isolate and are urgently retested. “We will communicate …

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka says Australia cannot keep its borders shut indefinitely despite the risk of COVID-19. Ms Hrdlicka made the comments at a business function hosted by the Queensland University of Technology on Monday. Ms Hrdlicka argued that Australia needed to discuss opening the borders as the vaccine rollout ramped up, according to the university’s media unit. “We can’t …

COVID has “supercharged” Australian anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theory communities online, digital experts warn, with fears a 300 per cent explosion in membership of such Facebook groups could derail the vaccine rollout. Even as social media giants crackdown on harmful misinformation, including deleting prominent pages and slapping on new warnings and fact-check labels, critics say dangerous conspiracy theories are still festering …

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to devotees to keep a key Hindu festival “symbolic” as the country reported more than 200,000 new COVID-19 infections for the third straight day. Criticism has mounted over the Indian government’s handling of the health crisis, as religious festivals and election rallies continue amid increasing reports of shortages of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders …