Lisa Wilkinson calls the Sydney covid outbreak a ‘gut punch’

With Sydney’s outbreak recording its highest number of covid cases today, Lisa Wilkinson is at her breaking point.

With 239 new Covid-19 cases today in Sydney, and up to 66 of those infectious while in the community, it’s safe to say residents are over it.

Lisa Wilkinson described today’s numbers on The Project as a "gut punch”, and it’s exactly how everyone else is feeling.

“Like most people in NSW at the moment – that number that started with a 2 today felt like a real gut punch,” said Lisa.

Lisa calls the worsening Sydney outbreak a 'gut punch'. Picture: Channel 10

“I think we thought that it might nudge close to 200 but the fact that it was so far over the 200 number really felt like the game has changed – we’re in a whole different realm. I don’t think anybody thinks for a moment that we will be out of this at the end of August.”

However, looking on the bright side, Wilkinson said that vaccine hesitation has lowered.

“There is one silver lining, because I think a lot of us are looking for silver linings at the moment, and that is that in NSW the vaccine hesitancy has halved from 33 per cent at the end of May to down to 14.6 per cent. So at least that’s going to lift those numbers and hopefully give a lot of people in NSW who get the vaccine a fighting chance.”

“And, unlike other states, there’s no supply issue, really, in NSW, because AstraZeneca is now being recommended for everybody to have,” added co-host Waleed Aly. “So it’s not like you’re waiting for vaccines to arrive – you can actually fulfil that increased enthusiasm.”

Today’s press conference had NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that residents should expect things to get worse before they get better.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian spoke to the media during a Covid-19 press conference revealing Sydney recorded 239 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases overnight. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

“We’ve had two covid-related deaths. A woman in her 90s and there was a gentleman in his 80s, he is from southwestern Sydney. Can I just extend my sincere sympathies to the families,” Dr Kerry Chant added.

“It’s not only an old person’s disease,” she continued. “54 people in intensive care and 22 who require ventilation and they’re young – many of the cases are young. We’ve got two in these teens. So please, get vaccinated.”