NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian scolds Kyle Sandilands on live radio for saying most COVID-19 cases are ‘very mild’ – and says he’s spreading a dangerous message about the virus
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian scolded Kyle Sandilands live on air on Thursday, after the radio host downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic.
During an interview on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Thursday, the 49-year-old shock jock told Ms Berejiklian that he’d heard most COVID-19 cases are ‘very mild’ and that more people have died from the flu.
But Ms Berejiklian hit back at this dangerous suggestion, accusing Sandilands of spreading the ‘wrong statistics’ about the virus, which has so far killed more than 580,000 people worldwide.
‘That’s not the case’: NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian scolded Kyle Sandilands live on air on Thursday, after the radio host downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic
‘I’ve been reading all these reports and been all over this COVID thing since the start, but I’ve heard that 99.5 per cent of cases worldwide are very mild and more people died of the flu last year than they are going to die of COVID-19 worldwide,’ Sandilands said.
Ms Berejiklian argued: ‘Kyle, I don’t like it when people give those statistics because it makes people think we can all became complacent and that this isn’t a serious disease that can cost thousands of lives here in Australia – and that’s not the case.’
The premier clarified that COVID-19 is very contagious and can affect everyone in society, from the most vulnerable to young, healthy people.
Claims: During an interview on KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O show, Kyle said he’d heard most COVID-19 cases are very mild and more people have died from the flu
‘The ones more likely getting the disease are the ones in their twenties because they are most likely to socialise and go out and mix with each other,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
‘What happens then is the vulnerable [people] in their lives can get it and can die. Young people are also not immune from getting it seriously and dying themselves.’
She continued: ‘And what you don’t often hear about is even people recovering often have lifelong organ damage and lifelong chronic conditions.’
Pandemic: The premier argued coronavirus is very contagious and not only affects the most vulnerable but also young people
Ms Berejiklian also vowed she would try to avoid a lockdown in Sydney amid fears Victoria’s second outbreak is spreading north of the border.
On Wednesday, Victoria recorded 317 new cases of coronavirus, its worst daily figure ever.
Meanwhile, New South Wales has reported 13 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday.