CANBERRA, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Australia on Monday reported its 1,000th coronavirus death since the start of the pandemic, according to the Department of Health, as the country continued to battle the third wave of COVID-19 infections.
On Monday morning, New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state with Sydney as the capital city, reported another four deaths, bringing the nation's death toll beyond 1,000.
There have been 93 COVID-19 related deaths in NSW since June 16, said NSW health department, with a record 1,375 new locally-acquired cases of COVID-19 on Monday.
Of the news cases, 1,290 were from NSW. Victoria, the second-most populous state with Melbourne as the capital city, reported a further 73 new local cases.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) confirmed 12 new cases, six of which have been linked to previous cases.
Only two of the cases were in quarantine for their entire infectious period.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr will soon announce whether Canberra's strict lockdown imposed on Aug. 12 will end as planned on Thursday.
"The Delta strain is very, very challenging to contain. And as today's data confirms, we still have people who are infectious in the community," he said.
"We still have cases that don't have clear epidemiological links. This is concerning."
Barr also said "it is very clear" that ACT will require ongoing public health measures in place beyond this week. Enditem
