Last checked at 
* Sydney records 239 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours
* 300 military personnel to aid police
* Troops to aid enforcement of lockdown
* Sydney lockdown threatens second recession
(Adds details of Australian military personnel helping enforce
lockdown of Sydney)
By Colin Packham and Renju Jose
SYDNEY, July 29 (Reuters) - Australia's military will help
enforce a lockdown in Sydney after the city of 6 million posted
a record daily rise in COVID-19 cases on Thursday and state
authorities said the outbreak was likely to get worse.
The lockdown of Australia's biggest city has increased
pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is now trailing
in opinion polls, and heightened concern that Australia's A$2
trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy could slide into recession.
Despite an extended lockdown in Sydney since an outbreak of
the highly infectious Delta variant, 239 new locally acquired
coronavirus cases were recorded in the city over a 24-hour
period, the biggest daily rise since the pandemic began.
"We can only assume that things are likely to get worse
before they get better given the quantity of people infectious
in the community," said Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of New
South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital.
Berejiklian said one new death took the toll from the latest
outbreak to 13 and the national total was now 921.
With little sign that of restrictions reducing infections,
Berejiklian said new curbs would be imposed on the southwestern
and western areas of Sydney where the majority of COVID-19 cases
are being found.
Residents there will be forced to wear masks outdoors and to
stay within five km (three miles) of their homes.
With even tighter restrictions set to begin on Friday, New
South Wales Police said it had asked for 300 military personnel
to help enforce lockdown orders.
The personnel will deploy on Friday, Defence Minister Peter
Dutton said, and will begin assisting police with ensuring
compliance with restrictions next week.
LOCKDOWN EXTENDED
Berejiklian extended the Sydney lockdown by another month on
Wednesday.
New South Wales accounts for over a third of Australia's
economy. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he expected the
national economy to shrink in the September quarter but the
ability to avoid a technical recession would depend on whether
New South Wales can avoid a longer lockdown.
"With respect to the December quarter, that does depend to a
large extent how successful New South Wales, our largest state
economy, is in getting on top of this virus," Frydenberg told
the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Berejiklian has said restrictions need to remain as too few
people in Sydney are vaccinated amid tight supplies of the
Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, with which Australia
had hoped to inoculate everyone under 60 years old.
All adults in Sydney have been urged to seek an AstraZeneca
vaccine. Some, citing rare blood clots, are reluctant
and would prefer to wait several months when Australia is
expected to receive additional Pfizer supplies.
($1 = 1.3561 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Renju Jose and Colin Packham in Canberra;
additonal reporting by Xihao Jiang in Tokyo; Editing by Michael
Perry, Lincoln Feast and Timothy Heritage)
