The question Scott Morrison won’t answer

Scott Morrison has refused to reveal what he’s been told by NSW about the predicted peak of Covid-19 cases as hospitals prepare for the biggest virus crisis in living memory.

Scott Morrison has refused to reveal what he’s been told by NSW about the predicted peak of Covid-19 cases as hospitals prepare for the biggest virus crisis in living memory.

There are predictions that cases in NSW will peak in late September at more than 20,000 infections a week.

That is expected to place enormous pressure on the state’s intensive care units which are preparing to expand the number of beds available to care for Covid patients in huge numbers.

But asked to detail when those numbers will peak and when higher vaccination rates will flatten the curve, the Prime Minister said today it would not be “wise” to reveal the number.

“These numbers are changing, that is the first thing,” Mr Morrison said.

“In discussions I had with the chief health officer in New South Wales and the Premier earlier this week about those very topics, issues with ICU, these are obviously issues managed directly by the NSW government – they run their own hospitals and (do it) very well.”

Mr Morrison pledged that he would soon brief Australians on new Doherty Institute modelling. But government sources later confirmed that does not include a prediction on the peak in NSW.

The NSW modelling, which remains tightly held, was a matter for NSW, he said.

The NSW Vaccination Centre at Homebush. Picture: Christian Gilles/NCA NewsWire

“What we will do in the next phase, once we work through these further discussions with states and territories, you’ll recall we had the briefing with Professor McVernon, through all those numbers,” Mr Morrison said.

“When we can finalise those numbers, and how it appears in modelling, what I am telling you is just like last time, we will come to a full briefing with Professor McVernon and it will be answered by the modelling.”

Asked why not tell voters now, Mr Morrison said, “I don’t think that it would be wise because they won’t talk about numbers not yet finalised and are changing daily. The question about what the numbers are, they change every day but what doesn’t change is what we have to do.”

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned that the worst is yet to come after the state recorded 1431 new cases and 12 deaths.

“As I have said previously, the best health advice I have is that we anticipate a peak in cases in the next fortnight,” she said.

“The next fortnight is likely to be our worst in terms of the number of cases, but as I have said it is not the number of cases we need to be focusing on but how many of those cases and up in our intensive care wards and hospitals and how many people we have vaccinated as quickly as possible.

“The reason why the health experts suggest that that is when the peak is, is because after a fortnight as you know in the last couple of weeks, the amount of vaccines that we are put in arms are people living in those communities with high rates of the virus has been outstanding and that will have a positive effect on the spread and the likely number of cases in around a fortnight.

“However, in terms of hospitalisation in ICU beds, there is often a week or two week lag. It means that the highest number of people in our intensive care wards are likely to present during the month of October.”