Australia's COVID-19 daily cases topped 1,900 for the first time in the pandemic on Friday as an outbreak fuelled by the highly infectious Delta variant continued to gain ground in locked-down Sydney and Melbourne, its largest cities.

Australia's daily COVID-19 cases near 2,000 as Delta gains ground

About 2 million Australians begun their first full day of a strict coronavirus lockdown on Monday following the discovery of one case in the community in Perth, capital of Western Australia state, but no new cases have since been found.

Two million Australians in lockdown after one coronavirus case found

Australia on Monday reported highest number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with almost all the new infections coming from the southeastern state of Victoria.

Day after reporting most COVID-19 deaths, Australia confirms record infections

Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria, which is already witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases, on Thursday reported 317 new cases, its highest rise in infections in the 24-hour-period.

Australia: Victoria reports record coronavirus infections

Australia on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the World Health Organization's handling of the crisis.

Australia calls for independent probe into global virus response