Meanwhile, Japan will lift a coronavirus state of emergency in all regions on Thursday as the number of new cases falls and the strain on the medical system eases, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said.

Under a roadmap to exit lockdown in Australia's biggest city, unvaccinated people are already subject to delays in freedoms that will be gradually granted to inoculated residents between Oct. 11 and Dec. 1.

Berejiklian said people who choose not to be vaccinated could be barred entry to shops, restaurants and entertainment venues even after the state lifts all restrictions against them on Dec. 1.

"A lot of businesses have said they will not accept anyone who is unvaccinated," Berejiklian told Seven News on Tuesday. "Life for the unvaccinated will be very difficult indefinitely."

The two-tier system, designed to encourage more people to get vaccinated, has been criticized for both penalizing vulnerable groups who have not had access to inoculations and for falling short of providing a real incentive for the vaccine hesitant.

Pubs, cafes, gyms and hairdressers will reopen to fully vaccinated people on Oct. 11 in New South Wales, home to Sydney, and more curbs will be eased once 80 percent of its adult population becomes fully vaccinated, expected by the end of October.

Australia is pursuing a faster reopening through higher vaccination rates despite persistent infections, largely in its two biggest cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Along with the capital Canberra, both cities are in a weeks-long lockdown.

The Delta-fueled outbreak has divided state and territory leaders, with some presiding over virus-free parts of the country indicating they will defy a federal plan to reopen internal borders once the adult population reaches 80 percent vaccination, expected in November. The national vaccine rate is currently around 52 percent.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt welcomed the New South Wales roadmap and urged people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

"The strongest possible reason to be vaccinated is to save your life," Hunt said.

 

Cases top 100,000

The number of COVID-19 cases recorded by Australia since the beginning of the pandemic topped 100,000 on Tuesday, with around 70 percent of those detected since a Delta-variant fueled wave hit the country in mid-June.

New South Wales reported 863 new cases on Tuesday, up from 787 a day earlier, and seven new deaths. Neighboring Victoria reported 867 new cases, its biggest daily rise ever, and four deaths.

The northeast state of Queensland reported four cases, including its first mystery case in almost two months. Officials are racing to trace the source after an aviation worker, who has not travelled interstate or overseas recently, contracted the virus.

While the state is on high alert, officials stopped short of enforcing a lockdown.

Australia had been faring relatively well until the latest wave, but a sluggish vaccine rollout left it vulnerable to the more virulent Delta strain. Deaths stand at 1,256 but the mortality rate from Delta is lower than last year due to higher vaccination rates among the vulnerable population.

In New South Wales, the number of people hospitalized dipped to 1,155 from 1,266 a week ago as dual-dose vaccination levels in people aged over 16 topped 60 percent in the state.

 

Ending state of emergency

The plan to lift state of emergency, approved by a government advisory panel, takes Japan as a whole out of an emergency state for the first time in nearly six months. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was scheduled to hold a news conference at 7 p.m. (1000 GMT) to announce the decision after the plan is formalized by a government task force.

But Nishimura said some limitations on eateries and large-scale events would remain in place for about a month to prevent a resurgence in cases.

"New cases will undoubtedly rise after the emergency state is lifted," Nishimura, who also oversees Japan's coronavirus response, said on Tuesday as the advisory panel began its meeting.

"We need to continue with the necessary measures to prevent a rebound," he said, adding that if cases surged again, reinstatement of a more limited "quasi emergency" was possible.

Restaurants in areas under emergency curbs are now required to close by 8 p.m. and not serve alcohol.

Nishimura said the government would introduce a certification system whereby only approved restaurants could stay open until 9 p.m., although the ban on alcohol would be lifted everywhere unless prefectural governors objected.

Like many other countries, Japan had struggled to contain the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant — including through the Summer Olympic Games — keeping much of the country under emergency restrictions.

But new daily cases have steadily fallen over the past month, to 1,128 nationwide on Monday, according to the health minister, nearly halving from the 2,129 on Sunday and down from a daily high of about 25,000 infections at the peak.

Nearly 60 percent of the population is fully vaccinated and the government has said all those who want shots will have had them by November.