Australia's Victoria reports 61 local COVID-19 cases

Reuters
FILE PHOTO: The first day of a COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne
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MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's second most populous state Victoria reported 61 new locally acquired coronavirus cases in the 24-hour period to Friday evening, health officials said on Saturday.

There were an additional 16 local cases that were recorded on a rapid testing platform and will be reported in Sunday's numbers, officials said.

Melbourne, home to five million people, entered into its sixth lockdown since on Aug. 5, just weeks after exiting the last one, to quell an outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Sandra Maler)