Virus kills first Aussie man
AN elderly Perth man has become the first person in Australia to die from the coronavirus as authorities say an increase in cases is “inevitable” across the country.
Western Australia’s chief health officer Dr Andrew Robertson yesterday confirmed the 78-year-old died at Perth’s Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in the early hours of the morning.
The man was diagnosed with COVID-19 about 10 days ago while in isolation at Howard Springs in the Northern Territory after being quarantined aboard the Diamond Princess and then flown out of Japan.
“Our condolences are with his family and unfortunately he is the first death we have had from coronavirus in Australia,” Dr Robertson said.
“He was in his late 70s, like many people in that age, they’re more likely to have other chronic conditions and it would obviously make being able to fight off this virus more difficult.” He added that the elderly man’s death didn’t come as a surprise to doctors as it’s known COVID-19 can start off relatively mild before it progresses.
Dr Robinson said the man had been in isolation ever since he was diagnosed and insisted there was no risk to the community or hospital staff.
The man’s 79-year-old wife was also diagnosed with the virus a few days ago and is in a stable condition in the same hospital.
It’s not known if the man’s wife got the virus from her husband, but both were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, Dr Robertson said.
He insisted the man’s death did not change the status of COVID-19 in Australia but said authorities are expecting it to merge with the upcoming flu season.
Dr Robertson insisted there was no need for panic and that now was the time to prepare for an increasing 1 Stare at dog legs 2 Intend to be stingy 3 Honest learners cuddle 4 Triantelopes make good number of cases in the future.
“We’ve realised it is likely we will get community spread in Australia at some stage in the next three to six months,” he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was “very saddened” to hear about the death of the elderly Perth man.
“We join his family and friends in mourning his passing ... We will continue to do all we can to protect Australians from #coronavirus,” he said in a tweet.
It comes as the government defends its decision to ban foreign visitors entering Australia from Iran to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, rather than South Korea which has a much higher level of cases.
The new travel restrictions came in as NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant confirmed a fifth person in the state had contracted the virus, a man in his 40s who arrived in Sydney from Iran.