Scott Morrison says ‘utterly false’ to suggest Sydney lockdown avoidable if vaccine targets met

Prime minister says even the most optimistic scenarios' in the original vaccine rollout plan would not have helped NSW now

• NSW to send mounted police into south-west Sydney to enforce lockdown - as it happened
• Covid Australia vaccine rollout tracker
• Download the free Guardian app; Get our morning email briefing

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has dismissed suggestions Australia could have vaccinated enough people by now to have avoided a lockdown to control Sydney's Covid outbreak as completely and utterly false".

In his first press conference in almost a week, Morrison defended his government's vaccination rollout, insisting it was only two months behind schedule.