NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian looks on during a Covid-19 press conference today. Photo / Getty Images
Fresh off the back of announcing 919 new cases of locally acquired Covid-19 and two more deaths as a result of Greater Sydney's months-long outbreak, Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged the people of her state to turn their attention from the climbing infections to a different figure.
"There is no doubt people would be alarmed by rising case numbers," she told reporters, after NSW had once again broken the record for the highest daily number recorded in Australia since the pandemic began.
"But it's a mark of how vaccines work that the hospitalisation rate is relatively low."
Berejiklian had a point — one that has been repeated by experts since Covid-19 landed in Australia and even the Prime Minister in recent weeks: that Australia needs to stop chasing Covid-zero and turn our attention instead to the things we can control, like getting vaccinated and doing everything we can to keep people out of hospital.
But this came on a day when Berejiklian, the Health Minister and the chief health officer were peppered with questions about reports that Sydney's hospital system is about to buckle under the pressure.
The number of people with Covid-19 in intensive care has jumped 46 per cent in the past week — from 77 to 113 of the 645 cases receiving treatment in hospital.
"It is not pleasing to see 98 of the people in ICU are not vaccinated," a frustrated Dr Kerry Chant told reporters.
"I think this highlights the fact that vaccination is the key. We need to increase those vaccine coverage levels and can I just urge everyone to take up the opportunity for vaccination as soon as possible."
Berejiklian acknowledged that "there is no doubt that parts of the hospital network are under severe pressure" because of the concentration of cases in Sydney's southwest, Health Minister Brad Hazzard stressed that NSW's health system is "probably the best health system in the world" and that it is "coping", despite reports that Westmead Hospital is now working under emergency operations.
"There is no question that the health system is working under pressure. Westmead staff are managing about 1500 patients in the community and about 121 staff are in their wards. There are about 23 in ICU. That is a pressure situation for them," he said.
"I'll stress that it isn't easy. Last week, Westmead Hospital had 280 patients who came in by ambulance with Covid. So about 40 ambulance deliveries a day with Covid. Each of those patients are being well cared for. I'm confident that we have maybe a system that is under pressure but a system that works."
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald this week, Nepean Hospital intensive care specialist Dr Nhi Nguyen said the level of care needed by patients in this Delta outbreak is more involved than during previous waves.
"What has worried us over recent weeks is the increasing number of patients admitted to intensive care who are younger," she said.
"They are staying in intensive care for longer, and they are needing care that cannot be provided anywhere else on the wards.
"We are worried about the increasing number of patients who are admitted to the wards because we know at some stage they will need the intensive care team's care. It isn't a good day. We would much prefer to never meet you and your families."
As the Premier forges ahead with her plan to ease lockdown once 70 per cent of eligible adults in NSW are fully vaccinated, the onus falls on people to get the jab.
In a desperate plea to young people in areas of concern, Chant said "the modelling suggests if we can get that group vaccinated, we will break the transmission chain".
"Please do not waste this opportunity. This opportunity is for you individually, your family and loved ones. But it's also for the community," she said.
"It will take a while but the solution is in our hands. We have a choice. If we embrace vaccination, we will get there sooner."
Dr Lucy Morgan, a lung specialist working on the frontline of the crisis in Sydney's west, laid it out more plainly than most, giving a harrowing play-by-play of how the virus symptoms can worsen in patients after they test positive.
"My hope is when you can understand a little bit more about how [it feels] to get Covid-19, we might transfer some of our anxieties about the vaccine to feeling a bit more anxious about the illness and what we can do constructively to reduce our chances," Morgan said.
"The biggest message today is get vaccinated. Think about getting vaccinated today. The Delta strain of Covid-19 is incredibly infectious. But the good news in all of this is that this does not have to be you.
"You could get a vaccine today and reduce your risk of getting severe respiratory illness from Covid-19 and reduce your chances of ending up in hospital. Two doses of Covid-19 vaccination will be your suit of armour.
"It will protect you from getting sick from Covid-19, from needing admission to hospital and from ending up in the ICU. Book your vaccine today. Protect your loved ones and protect yourself."