Inside a Covid ICU ward as confronting pictures show patients gasping for breath and hooked up to machines as they battle the hideous virus
- Sydney hospital allowed cameras into Covid intensive care unit for the first time
- The haunting pics show the suffering of two Covid victims as they fight for life
- Their rasping breaths drown out noisy medical equipment as they gasp for air
- One man appears to be under 50 while the other looks to only be in his 30s
- The shock images reinforce the message that Covid doesn't just hit the elderly
Two brave Covid victims have given the world an insight into their suffering by allowing cameras to capture their fight for life inside a Sydney hospital's intensive care unit.
The two un-named men - one apparently under the age of 50 and one possibly in his 30s - are relying on vital oxygen supplies as they battle for every breath while the disease ravages their bodies.
Health experts agreed to the unprecedented media access in the hope the haunting images will help dispel the myth that only the elderly are hospitalised by Covid.
Two brave Covid victims have given the world an insight into their suffering by allowing cameras to capture their battle for life inside a Sydney hospital's intensive care unit (pictured)
Of the current 20 people in ICU across NSW in the current Covid outbreak, just five are aged over 70.
One is in their 20s, two are in their 30s, two in their 40s, five in their 50s, five in their 60s, three in their 70s and two are in their 80s. Four are on ventilators.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant slowly read out those chilling statistics at Wednesday's daily Covid briefing as the state recorded another 97 cases.
'The reason I take the time to read out those age profiles is really to dispel the misconception that Covid is mild in younger age groups,' she said.
'That is dispelling the notion that you are not going to get sick from Covid if you're young.
'You don't need to have an underlying health condition to be in hospital with Covid.
The two un-named men - one apparently under the age of 50 and one possibly in his 30s - rely on vital oxygen supplies as they fight for every breath while the disease ravages their bodies. Nurse Shaunagh Whelan is seen here tending to the younger patient
'Covid is a serious disease and is associated with hospitalisation and death.'
One in three of Sydney's Covid cases which required hospitalisation are now in intensive care, prompting Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital to allow cameras into its ICU.
'We are seeing a more diverse group of patients this time, with a disproportionate number of younger patients in ICU,' Dr Paul Preisz, medical director of St Vincent's emergency department in Darlinghurst told the SMH.
'It just seems like nobody is safe. Last year we saw older patients with high blood pressure and other existing conditions.
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'But this time they are younger, with no medical problems. We are seeing a broader range of ages.'
In an accompanying video, the younger patient can be seen barely conscious as his diseased lungs rasp with every breath.
Nearby medical equipment is almost drowned out by the sound of his laboured breathing.
Monitors track his every heartbeat, blood pressure and breath as milling medics wrapped in personal protective equipment try to keep him comfortable and alive.
Two people - a man in his 70s and a woman in her 90s - have already died in this latest outbreak, the first in NSW this year, bringing the state's tally to 58 and the national death toll to 912 since the pandemic began last year.
Health experts agreed to the unprecedented media access to Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital in the hope the haunting images will help dispel the myth that only the elderly are hospitalised by Covid
The relentless spread of the disease caused Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) to extend the Greater Sydney lockdown for another two weeks until July 30
The relentless spread of the disease, which has now seen 864 locally acquired cases in NSW since June 16, caused Premier Gladys Berejiklian to extend the Greater Sydney lockdown for another two weeks until July 30.
'It always hurts to say this, but we need to extend the lockdown for at least another two weeks,' she said.
'I appreciate people are stressed and upset about what is going on, myself included. None of us want to be in this situation.'
