‘No-brainer’: Lisa Wilkinson hits out at the NSW premier over mask mandates

Lisa Wilkinson has taken aim at the NSW Premier and the Prime Minister saying she was right to call for tougher restrictions.

Lisa Wilkinson has taken aim at the NSW Premier, saying she was right to call for tougher restrictions before they were reintroduced in the state on Thursday.

The Project host had been calling for a reintroduction of mask mandates ahead of the NSW government’s decision to bring them back this week amid surging case numbers.

Premier Dominic Perrottet announced the new indoor mask rule on Thursday.

Indoor masks must be worn as of today in NSW. QR code check-ins are also mandatory in most settings including hospitality and retail.

Shortly after the news broke, Wilkinson took to Twitter.

“After Dom Perrottet and Scott Morrison insisted for weeks there was no need for indoor mask mandates, Perrottet backflips & reintroduces them along with QR code check-ins as cases surge in NSW to 5,715,” she wrote. “Turns out, it WAS a no-brainer.”

After @Dom_Perrottet and @ScottMorrisonMP insisted for weeks there was no need for indoor mask mandates, Perrottet backflips & reintroduces them along with QR code check-ins as cases surge in NSW to 5715.

Turns out, it WAS a no-brainer. 👇👇👇👇👇#TheProjectTVhttps://t.co/e5vHdK9hRw

— Lisa Wilkinson (@Lisa_Wilkinson) December 23, 2021

Earlier in the week she spoke to Dr Nick Coatsworth on The Project, with the pair locked in a fiery exchange over whether enough is being done to stop the spread of Omicron ahead of the holiday season.

While the former deputy chief medical officer believed things were going smoothly, Ms Wilkinson claimed a lack of mask mandates and high case numbers are “ruining Christmas”.

Earlier this month, Australia’s former deputy chief medical officer criticised “irresponsible” medical commentators, including the Australian Medical Association, for “increasing fear among the Australian population” regarding the Omicron outbreak.

Concern over the emergent strain has grown in recent days after NSW registered record breaking case numbers two days in a row. The state has vaccinated almost 95 per cent of its over-16 population.

Appearing on The Project on Wednesday night, Wilkinson questioned the doctor on the lack of mask mandate in NSW.

“We’re just a couple of days away from Christmas. You’ve seen those numbers in NSW; they’re going through the roof. People’s Christmases are being destroyed, because that is the state where there is no mask mandate,” said Wilkinson.

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Lisa Wilkinson interviews Dr Nick Coatsworth on The Project.

She brought up Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s comparison of mask wearing with the use of sunscreen at the beach.

“The problem with that is, if you choose not to wear sunscreen, you’re the only one who gets sunburnt. If you choose not to be Covid-safe and not to wear a mask indoors – which is what is happening in NSW right now – then you are putting everybody in the vicinity at risk,” said Wilkinson.

“Isn’t it a no-brainer?”

“Let’s unpack it a little bit, Lisa,” said Dr Coatsworth.

“I think that, you know, independent of the analogy, what we want to do is help people make their own decisions – good decisions – about how to protect themselves and others.

“With regard to the numbers, though – it needn’t be about case numbers now. It has to be about hospitalisations, Lisa. Because if it’s not, we’ve basically moved nowhere since 2020.

“And I do think we need to move forward, focus on hospitalisations, and making sure our health system is robust and resilient – which, so far, it’s turned out to be.”

Nick Coatsworth on The Project on Wednesday night. Picture: Channel 10

“I think you have to tell that to all the people whose Christmases – in NSW, particularly – are being ruined,” Wilkinson shot back.

“But anyway, let’s move on.”

She brought up the latest Doherty Institute modelling, which controversially warns the country could see up to 200,000 cases a day by late January without new restrictions being imposed.

Mr Morrison and chief medical officer Paul Kelly both brushed off that worst case scenario on Wednesday.

“While modelling is an important tool to help guide decision-making, it is just one of a range of tools and cannot be viewed in isolation. Modelling helps to prepare for all scenarios and to mitigate the risk associated with the pandemic,” Professor Kelly said.

“A preliminary scenario, of many being considered to help inform decision making, presents one of the worst case of all potential scenarios including assumptions that the Omicron variant is as severe as the Delta variant, an absence of hospital surge capacity, a highly limited booster program, no change to baseline public health and social measures and an absence of spontaneous behaviour change in the face of rising case numbers.

Aussies have been lining up in droves as cases increase in the week before Christmas.

“None of these five assumptions represent the likely state of events, let alone all of them together, therefore presenting that scenario as the likely scenario that will occur is highly misleading.”

Dr Coatsworth certainly concurred with that opinion.

“Well, I would – again – take a step back and refer to what Paul Kelly said today,” he said.

“That is an extraordinarily unlikely scenario, to the point that perhaps it should never have even entered into the model. When you leak numbers like that without context, it’s very damaging to community opinion. You know, of course people are going to be afraid about that. But it’s just not going to happen.”

Whoever leaked the Doherty modelling without context has committed a gross injustice to the Australian people #auspol#covid19aus

— Dr. Nick Coatsworth (@nick_coatsworth) December 21, 2021

The Vice President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Chris Moy, is on the other side of the fence from Dr Coatsworth and believes governments aren’t doing enough.

He has called on the states to reintroduce indoor mask mandates.

“The Australian Medical Association is pleading with governments across Australia, state and federal, to really take precautionary approach to this and get in front of this,” he told the Today show on Wednesday morning.

“And that means simple things like masks and some use of QR codes and some density limits, just to slow this thing down while we get more data.”

The AMA and Dr Coatsworth have exchanged criticism repeatedly in recent weeks. During his appearance on The Project, Dr Coatsworth was asked about that public disagreement.

“We need to talk about you and the AMA,” one host said.

“You’re having a bit of a go at each other publicly. We all hope and expect that our trusted doctors are going to get along with each other.”

“I do take a really strong view of how medical leaders should, sort of, present themselves with regard to Covid. And it is really hard to govern, as a government or a public servant, when you’ve got the AMA nipping at your heels and saying the decisions they don’t agree with mean you’re putting lives at risk,” said Dr Coatsworth.

“At the end of the day, they don’t have that many infectious disease physicians. So, we need to see where government is getting advice from. I’d love to see the AMA tell us where they are getting their advice from as well.”

Case numbers have spiked in the holiday season, but Dr Nick Coatsworth has called for calm, urging governments to hold fire on reintroducing harsh restrictions.

Dr Coatsworth was asked whether one of his previous remarks, calling the AMA a “peanut gallery”, was “a bit much”.

“Look, I think when you have an organisation that comes out and says the booster program is off track when it’s only just been changed – you know, I think it demands some sort of response,” he replied.

“People will judge whether that was too much or not.”