Officials in Australia have extended a three-day lockdown in Brisbane and certain surrounding areas, while hundreds of army men have begun patrolling Sydney to help enforce Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Sydney, Australia's largest city, is in its sixth week in lockdown as it battles an outbreak of infections that has risen to over 3,500 cases since the first case was discovered in a limo driver transporting international flight crews.

Officials in New South Wales, whose capital is Sydney, have urged locals to stay at home to avoid further surges, and have enlisted the support of the military to assist police in enforcing the lockdown restrictions after some residents disobeyed them.

About 300 army officers would go door to the house, unarmed and under police command, to confirm that persons who have tested positive are isolated at home.

The outbreak in Brisbane is becoming worse.

Following a continuous increase in new cases, officials in southeast Queensland, which includes Brisbane, have extended the lockdown until Sunday, fearing that there may be more undiscovered cases in the community and urging locals to get tested. The restrictions were supposed to be lifted by Tuesday evening.

In Queensland, thirteen locally acquired cases were discovered, up from nine the day before.

Following the appearance of the fast-moving Delta strain, Australia is seeing a cycle of stop-and-start lockdowns in various cities, and such restrictions are expected to continue until the country achieves higher vaccine coverage.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stated that lockdowns will be "less likely" once the country's population over the age of 16 gets vaccinated, which now stands at 19 percent. Morrison believes he will reach that goal before the end of the year.

Despite the fact that Australia's vaccine campaign has trailed behind many other industrialized nations, it has done a considerably better job of reducing coronavirus infections and deaths to a minimum, with just under 34,400 cases and 924 deaths so far.