A TikTok star who correctly predicted daily case numbers and gave a rousing speech at an anti-lockdown protest has been left fighting for his life with Covid in intensive care.
Jon-Benard Kairouz, 24, is currently in a Covid ward at St George Hospital in Kogarah, in Sydney’s south, his lawyer has confirmed.
Mr Kairouz was charged with two counts of not complying with Covid-19 directions and one count of encouraging the commission of crimes after he attended a violent protest in Sydney’s CBD on July 24.
The prankster’s lawyer Eidan Havas revealed his Covid-positive client was forced to give instructions from his hospital bed, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The controversial comedian pleaded not guilty to all three counts when the case came before the Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday.
Jon-Bernard Kairouz and his father Richard Kairouz (pictured together) have been hospitalised with Covid-19
‘This should highlight to everyone in NSW how serious Covid-19 is and everyone should be getting vaccinated and staying home in order to stop the transmission of this terrible virus,’ Mr Havas told the outlet.
The case has been adjourned to Sydney’s Local Downing Centre Local Court on October 26.
While the TikTok star was removed from ICU on Wednesday afternoon, his father continues to battle the deadly disease in the same facility.
Richard Kairouz, a gym owner, was admitted to hospital nearly a fortnight ago and has been placed in an induced coma in the intensive care unit.
A source close to the family said last week that they have been hit hard by Covid.
Jon-Bernard Kairouz (pictured) shot to fame after he correctly predicted the daily number of NSW case numbers in NSW
‘He was symptomatic … and kept deteriorating,’ they said, referring to Mr Kairouz senior.
‘(He) decided to go to hospital on the Saturday afternoon. The whole family is at home in isolation.
‘After predicting the Covid-19 numbers daily, (Jon-Bernard) couldn’t predict that he (his dad) would contract it.’
Mr Kairouz junior became known as ‘the TikTok guy’ after repeatedly revealing the NSW Covid tally hours before Premier Gladys Berejiklian earlier this year.
His sensational five-day streak ended in July when he got the numbers wrong, leading to speculation NSW Health had set up a ‘sting’ to catch the conspirator leaking the 24-year-old the case numbers.
His streak ended on July 19 with his prediction of 109, beyond the actual figure of 98.
Kairouz has repeatedly insisted his predictions are the result of ‘simple maths’, but has not released a single video since his suspected leak was outed.
Mr Kairouz (pictured) became known as ‘the TikTok guy’ after repeatedly revealing the NSW Covid tally hours before Premier Gladys Berejiklian earlier this year
The TikTok star sent tongues wagging after he fronted a violent anti-lockdown protest in July, disappointing many of his 57,000 followers.
The self-appointed ‘people’s Premier’ spoke to a cheering crowd of impassioned Australians who gleefully clutched signs condemning lockdowns, masks and vaccines.
‘All we want is freedom,’ he told about 3,500 protesters on the Town Hall steps.
‘I must say I’ve crunched the numbers, I don’t think the cases are going to go up tomorrow.
‘From what I’ve calculated there’s over 50,000 people here today,’ he wrongly claimed.
But the stunt quickly backfired, with some of his fans questioning why he joined thousands of protesters and risked extending the city’s lockdown.
‘Hope you enjoyed the protest, because everyone has lost respect for you,’ one woman commented on one of the comedian’s TikTok videos.
‘You had a big rise and an even bigger fall, how hilarious,’ a second wrote.
‘Maybe he can predict how many people will be in court to greet him,’ a user joked.
Jon-Bernard Kairouz fired up anti-lockdown protesters during an illegal rally in Sydney in July (pictured)
NSW Police set up Strike Force Seasoned to track down all attendees at the protest, which was feared by health officials to be a coronavirus super-spreader event.
Officers arrested 63 attendees at the rally and a further 60 for a variety of offences, including striking a police horse and assaulting a police officer.
Three police detectives were waiting outside his home in Belmore, in Sydney’s south-west, on Sunday July 25 to present him with his court attendance notice.
As Mr Kairouz rounds the corner wearing a NSW Blues Origin jersey, one detective approaches him and explains the criminal charge.
As he explains it is for a breach of the public health act, the TikTok comedian interrupts him and motions for officers not shown in the video to move back.
‘I’m listening, yeah… can you just take it easy?’ He asks one of the other officers as a friend films the encounter.
The comedian appeared unworried when the notice was handed to him, thanking the police and telling them to ‘have a good day’.
Kairouz is seen above when he was charged by officers on the street near his family’s home on July 25
It is still unclear how Mr Kairouz managed to accurately predict the Covid case numbers for five days in a row.
The feat hasn’t been repeated by anyone else except for a handful of well-connected political reporters who have reliably forecast ballpark figures.
Mr Kairouz enjoyed his case numbers stardom, telling reporters prior to the police charges that he was ‘having a ball’.
‘It’s been a whirlwind,’ he added.
Mr Kairouz has kept a lower profile in the wake of the police action. No one from the family responded to repeated requests for comment.