Chief health officer Paul Kelly says Covid advertisement intended to be ‘graphic’

A new ad showing the seriousness of Covid-19 is meant to be confronting, Australia’s chief health officer says, as Sydney’s outbreak worsens dramatically.

The federal government will air a “graphic” advertisement about Covid-19 in Sydney on Sunday night with the aim of driving home the seriousness of the city’s fast-growing outbreak.

The ad shows a young woman in hospital on a ventilator gasping for air, given the virus can attack the lungs in some cases.

Text on the screen reads: “Covid can affect anyone. Stay home. Get tested. Book your vaccination.”

Chief health officer Paul Kelly said the ad was intended to be scary as a large number of Sydneysiders appeared to not be taking the outbreak seriously.

On Sunday, it was revealed a woman in her 90s died of coronavirus while New South Wales recorded 77 new locally acquired cases.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she expected the numbers on Monday would likely be more than 100.

The federal government has released a confronting Covid-19 ad. Picture: Supplied by the ABC

In the same 24 hour period, NSW Police handed out 106 infringement notices across NSW including to 15 men who were caught playing cards inside a small apartment at Marrickville in Sydney’s inner west.

Dr Kelly described the ad as “quite graphic”.

“We are only doing this because of the situation in Sydney and it will be running in Sydney,” he said.

“The messages will be clear: stay at home, get tested and booked in for a vaccination.

“They are the three messages on that ad.

“It is meant to be graphic, it is meant to really push that message home - that is important.”

Originally published as Chief health officer Paul Kelly says Covid advertisement intended to be ‘graphic’