Troops and police set up roadblocks to limit the movement of people in Sydney.

Australia's biggest city of Sydney recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic on Monday as troops and police set up roadblocks to limit the movement of people, while Melbourne faced a nightly curfew and a further two weeks of lockdown.

Meanwhile, residents in Melbourne face a nightly curfew and a further two weeks of lockdown amid a surge in infections.

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Another report published in a local newspaper that with only 26% of people above 16 years of age fully vaccinated, Australia is vulnerable to the highly infectious Delta variant that has steadily spread across the country.

Sydney recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic on Monday.

Sydney, which is in its eighth week of lockdown, is the epicentre of Australia's third COVID-19 wave, while Melbourne, Canberra and Darwin — which begun its curbs on Monday — are all in lockdown, cases have proved stubbornly difficult to suppress.

New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said seven people in Sydney had died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, surpassing the state's previous record daily toll from earlier this month.

Authorities also confirmed the death of a 15-year-old boy from Sydney, who had pneumococcal meningitis and COVID-19.

Australia has confirmed 55 deaths since July 11, breaking a run of more than three months without any fatalities. In total, Australia has recorded 966 COVID-19 deaths.

The toll rose as 200 military personnel were deployed across Sydney to set up roadblocks in the hardest-hit areas, amid persistent reports of people flouting lockdown rules. The latest deployment comes on top of 500 troops deployed last month.