Western Australian Prime Minister Mark McGowan denounces NSW government for failure to deal with Covid-19
WA Premier Mark McGowan called NSW in a scathing press conference, saying the state was “letting the whole country down” as its covid crisis worsened.
Appearing at a press conference on Sunday, Mr McGowan criticized the state and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, saying the Covid-19 outbreak is’ tragic ‘, but’ it there is an Australia outside of New South Wales â.
Western Australia has all but eliminated Covid-19, with Mr McGowan saying he wanted to ‘keep it that way’.
âI don’t understand why this is such a controversial statement,â he said, criticizing NSW for its handling of the virus.
âI don’t want NSW to come here, I don’t want the NSW approach. I want us to continue the extraordinary life, the success, the great health outcomes that we are experiencing now, âhe said, saying Ms Berejiklian hadâ given in â.
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NSW has been on hold for eight weeks and will continue for another four weeks, as the state reported 830 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases and three deaths on Sunday. The modeling indicates that this number will increase because the state is not yet at its peak.
Mr McGowan was asked if he was comfortable with the plan under the National Cabinet deal, where blockages and border restrictions could be reduced once 70% and then 80% of Australians adults are vaccinated.
Mr McGowan called on the NSW government to follow the national strategy to suppress Covid-19 across the country before talking about reopening.
âJust because the NSW government has failed completely does not mean we have to deviate from the measures and the plan that have been put in place.
âWe all have to stick to the plan. “
Last week Ms Berejiklian gave the clearest sign, but the state abandoned any goal of reducing the number of Covid-19 cases to zero.
When asked directly if the state can still reach zero, the prime minister said eliminating the Delta variant was “nearly impossible.”
âYou have to learn to live with it. But the best chance we have to live with it freely and safely is to reduce the number of cases as much as possible. “
However, Mr McGowan disagrees, saying the Eastern State must focus on removing the virus “with vengeance” and that NSW “is letting the whole country down.”
âWhat happened in NSW is obviously tragic and very difficult for the people there, but there is an Australia outside of NSW and we are all doing our best to keep the virus out and we are following the national plan. “
Mr McGowan said the virus was indeed under control across the rest of the country, despite fears of a growing epidemic in Victoria and Canberra.
âWe’re all doing our best to keep the virus out⦠we’re all pretty much all covid-free.
âVictoria is doing all she can to crush and kill this virus using proven measures.
âACT is doing everything in its power to crush and kill this virus. New Zealand is doing everything possible to crush and kill this virus.
âIt’s only NSW that isn’t, they’re ditching the whole country.
“It’s very, very, debilitating for everyone to try and do the right thing.”
NSW recorded another day of horror on Sunday, with 830 new local Covid-19 infections – breaking the national record for the most new infections in a single day.
There have been three other deaths in a man in his 60s, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s.
But it’s not all bad news.
NSW has administered 45,000 vaccines in the past 24 hours, with NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard highlighting the state’s “extraordinary” vaccination and the “good enough” future it propels us into.
He said NSW is “now among the highest, if not the highest, in the world in terms of vaccination rates.”
Almost 60 percent of New South Wales residents received their first dose and 31 percent received two doses.