Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the country must begin to ease strict Covid-19 restrictions once vaccination rates increase, with over half of all Australians enduring weeks-long lockdowns to curb Delta outbreaks.

Some states have flagged they may not stick to a national plan that would include relaxing border controls, worried about a surge in cases in the country's southeast, with Sydney breaking new one-day records for infections.

"[Lockdowns] cannot go on forever. This is not a sustainable way to live in this country," Morrison said during a televised media conference in Canberra.

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