2021-07-02 05:35:52 GMT2021-07-02 13:35:52(Beijing Time) Xinhua English SYDNEY, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded on Friday a new high in daily increase of COVID-19 cases, raising questions around the effectiveness of Sydney's current lockdown. The state recorded 31 locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, highest single-day increase since June 16 when the index case was detected, bringing the total number of the latest outbreak to 226. The growth of local cases also came with an increasing number of tests, as a record of 73,602 tests reported to 8:00 p.m. Thursday night, compared with the previous day's total of 59,941.