Australia reported its first coronavirus-related death this year on Sunday, and 77 new cases of the virus appeared in New South Wales in 2021. The state is battling an outbreak of the highly infected Delta variant.

State Governor Gladys Berejiklian (Gladys Berejiklian) said that the number of people in Sydney and its surrounding areas, the country’s largest city, is expected to rise further in the coming days, and the city is under a three-week lockdown.

“I expect the number of people in New South Wales to exceed 100 tomorrow,” Berejiklian said at a TV briefing. “If it was less, I would be shocked.”

There were 50 cases on Saturday, a record high in 2021. This brings the recent outbreak to 566 cases.

Of the cases on Sunday, 33 people had spent the time in the community during the infection, which has deepened concerns that the lockdown period for more than 5 million people in Sydney and surrounding areas will be extended.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by William Mallard)