Updated.
March 01, 2020 17: 46:48
A senior Perth man who spent time on board the Diamond Princess cruise liner has become the very first Australian to pass away after contracting coronavirus– which the AMA has compared to the deadly Spanish influenza.
Bottom line:
- The man and his spouse were amongst the cruise liner evacuees flown back to Australia
- He remained in isolation in a Perth healthcare facility for the duration of his disease
- His 79- year-old other half is likewise amongst Australia’s 25 validated coronavirus cases
His death was verified by Western Australia’s chief health officer Andrew Robertson.
The 78- year-old male and his 79- year-old wife were among the 3,700 individuals– including 164 Australians– on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship when cases of coronavirus began to emerge.
Passengers were placed under isolation, but the virus continued to spread on the ship, with hundreds of individuals testing positive consisting of another WA man, who was taken off the ship to be dealt with in Japan.
The elderly couple were initially flown to Howard Springs in the Northern Area where Australia’s Diamond Princess evacuees were sent.
And just over a week ago they got here back in Perth where the male remained in seclusion at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
The couple’s dau