New South Wales recorded 415 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 Wednesday, down from a high of 466 the day before, as the country's most populated state went into a state-wide lockdown to combat the Delta variant's spread in outlying communities.

Officials tightened restrictions and issued a seven-day lockdown across the state Wednesday, concerned about rising illnesses in rural regions after recent sewage tests found the virus in numerous outlying towns.

“Western New South Wales remains a source of concern, particularly for our vulnerable indigenous communities,” state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in a statement to media in Sydney.

Officials said on Sunday that four additional people had died, bringing the total number of deaths in the state's newest outbreak to 46. At least 66 of the latest positive cases are people who spent time in the community while infected, according to Berejiklian.