Elderly Australian victim dies
AN elderly man from Western Australia has become the country’s first coronavirus fatality as NSW recorded another case of the disease, with a man who recently travelled to the Middle East becoming the fifth person in the state to be diagnosed.
It comes as another man in his 50s, believed to be a Sydney medical officer, is being tested for the virus in what was feared to be the first case of an Australian getting infected through person-to-person transmission.
It is understood the worker, who is currently being treated in hospital in intensive care, travelled to China some months ago but only recently started showing symptoms of COVID-19.
The maximum incubation period for the virus is 12-14 days, which is why Australians returning from China are required to self-isolate for two weeks.
A NSW Health spokeswoman yesterday said the department was awaiting test results and would not confirm the man’s position, or whether he was involved in treating COVID-19 patients.
A 78-year-old Perth man yesterday became the first Australian victim to succumb to the disease after passing away in hospital the early hours of the morning.
He was infected while on board the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship in the Japanese port of Yokohama.
The senior citizen was diagnosed about 10 days ago while in isolation in Howard Springs, outside of Darwin, after being quarantined aboard the ship and then flown out of Japan.
He was transported to WA with his wife last Friday by the Royal Flying Doctor Service and admitted to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s intensive care unit. Western Australia’s chief health officer Dr Andrew Robertson said he had been managed in isolation ever since he was diagnosed and insisted there was no risk to the general community or hospital staff.
He said the man’s 79-yearold wife has also tested positive for COVID-19 and was in a stable condition in hospital.
She had the chance to talk to her husband before he died and is “understandably upset”, he added.
“I don’t think we should be panicking at any time, this is the time we prepare for cases in the future,” Dr Robertson said.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt and Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy released joint statement saying it was “with great sadness” that the government marked the death of the 78year-old.