TikTok comedian is the ‘People’s Premier’ after predicting covid numbers

He has successfully predicted NSW’s covid numbers for the fifth day in a row, but does it all add up? Theories emerge after a TV interview.

TikTok comedian Jon-Bernard Kairouz has predicted Monday’s case numbers hours after appearing on Ten’s Sunday Project hailing himself the “People’s Premier”.

Kairouz, who calls himself an “actor” and “comedian”, claims he successfully used maths to predict NSW’s covid outbreak numbers for the fifth day in a row.

Despite defying a NSW Health warning to stop posting the state’s accurate covid numbers before they are publically released, Kairouz denied he had inside info and said it was all down to the magic of numbers.

Appearing on Channel 10’s The Sunday Project wearing a wrestling-style prize belt, the bizarrely accurate Sydneysider said he used simply a white board and maths equations to foresee NSW’s covid numbers before Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s daily coronavirus pressers.

Hours after his appearance, he posted across his channels his prediction for Monday’s case numbers: 109.

It comes amid reports authorities have launched a crackdown to find any possible leaks at NSW Health.

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford said a “witch hunt” to find the “leak” and “punish them” was in “full swing”.

He said an “unusual and brutal level of investigation” had been employed to address the leaks.

Number Of Cases Tomorrow, Monday 19th Of July.
#covidnsw#sydneylockdown#TikTokGuypic.twitter.com/uVILiHgyaY

— Jon-Bernard Kairouz (@jonbernardk) July 18, 2021

Tik Tok guy says 109 tomorrow for NSW. You know he’ll be right.
Is this a fun distraction or a threat to public health and safety?
The witch hunt to find his leak & punish them is in full swing.
Tomorrow across Australia.

— Peter Ford (@mrpford) July 18, 2021

RELATED: TikTok star predicts daily NSW Covid cases

So, how is he doing it?

“It’s kind of what everyone wants to know and to be quite honest with you, it comes down to simple maths,” Kairouz told The Sunday Project.

“My brothers and I have put a lot of time and effort in the algorithm and that’s all it comes down to, just mathematics.”

The Sunday Project guest host Jan Fran asked: “You and your brothers are hanging out in the probability algorithm and nailing the numbers every day and that’s all there is to it?”

“That’s 100 per cent right,” he replied.

“We’re quite lucky that not all complex calculus has one given solution but we have been lucky to get five, you know, in a row and could possibly go Michael Jordan numbers tomorrow.

Fran replied: “You speak complex calculus there. There’s some, what I can only assume is, complex calculus on the whiteboard behind you in your videos when you predict the numbers. Can you tell us what’s going on there?”

Kairouz replied: “On the whiteboard? Yeah. The diagrams … combined with all the other variables on there that we include, you know, such as the diameter of Fairfield and the circumference of south-west Sydney. Tom (Little), you keeping up with it?”

Little replied: “Yeah, mate, I’m understanding some of the words. Keep going. I’ll get there.”

Kairouz continued: “We take into account the infectious community cases that are about. We get a concrete figure that we’re happy to push out to the public.”

TikTok comedian Jon-Bernard Kairouz has eerily predicted the correct covid numbers for NSW five days in a row. Picture: The SundayProject/Channel 10

During the interview, despite probing from the hosts, Kairouz refused to divulge his prediction for tomorrow’s numbers.

“I’m not at liberty to disclose the figure at this time but, look, I’ll be putting out an announcement on my TikTok and Instagram,” he said.

“I feel like I owe it to the audience that refer to me as ‘The People’s Champion’, as you can see, or the ‘People’s Premier’. I feel that’s the best outlet for me to do it.

“I’m having a ball. I’ve been creating content on Instagram and TikTok for just about a year now. And to get a sudden, grow exponentially on the social platforms has been really fun and it’s been a whirlwind of a week,” he added.

Theories surface

But some believe more is at play than simple mathematics. Some believe the answer might be a simple one: a case of the federal government’s coronavirus app updating case numbers before they are officially announced. Journalist Emily Barton spotted a clue when she was comparing NSW case numbers to Victoria, she said.

News.com.au has contacted NSW Health for comment.

Speaking with news.com.au Friday afternoon, Kairouz said a man told him it was in his “best interest” to stop uploading videos.

“He said we would have to cease giving out the numbers because we’re compromising the public health system,” he said.

Mr Kairouz said he told the worker he didn’t have a source at NSW Health and had been using maths to guide his predictions.

The 25-year-old said using a Casio scientific calculator, it took him a few hours every evening to land on the correct number.

Despite the word of warning, Mr Kairouz said he would continue sharing his predictions the evening before the official press conferences.