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An elderly man who contracted coronavirus on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan has become the first Australian to die of the disease.
The 78-year-old man boarded the doomed cruise in Perth with his wife Iris, who also contracted the virus.
The man died at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital early on Sunday morning after being flown to Perth on February 21.
The elderly man who was the first Australian to die of coronavirus is seen getting off the plane in Perth after he was transferred from Darwin on February 21
The 78-year-old man boarded the doomed cruise liner Diamond Princess in Perth with his wife Iris, who also contracted the virus
He was one of 164 Australians evacuated from the cruise liner off the coast of Japan and quarantined in Darwin.
There are 26 coronavirus cases in Australia, 11 of whom have recovered, after two new infections were confirmed in Victoria and NSW on Sunday.
One was on the Diamond Princess and the other arrived in Sydney from Iran, where the virus has infected 139 people and killed 22.
Once his test results came in positive had was flown by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Perth for hospital treatment.
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital said on Sunday the deceased man’s wife, who is also in her 70s, was in a stable condition in an isolated negative pressure room.
WA chief health officer Andrew Robertson said he had a chance to talk to his wife and other family on Saturday night before he died.
‘She’s understandably very upset,’ he told reporters on Sunday morning.
‘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.’
Workers in protective clothing create a walkway for evacuees from the Diamond Princess in Japan to get to ambulances and be moved to hospital
His death was unexpected as he arrived in hospital in a stable condition but took a turn for the worse in recent days.
‘The gentleman is in stable condition and I understand he is comfortable and obviously he will get the very best of care when he arrives here at Perth,’ Health Minister Roger Cook said on February 22.
His daughter also told ABC radio that her parents were in ‘fantastic health’ when they boarded the ship and his case only appeared mild when he got to Perth.
‘He’s actually feeling really good – that’s the strangeness about this situation,’ she said.
‘A lot of the crew have also fallen ill that are preparing the food so there are people saying it may be coming from the food, but again there’s nothing conclusive.
‘My mum and dad both had a bit of mild gastro.’
However, Dr Robertson said coronavirus often got dramatically worse after the first week of it taking hold in a patient’s body.
‘He was stable but don’t think it surprised people [that he later died],’ he said.
‘We know with this disease patients may start out being quite stable and have relatively mild disease early on, but unfortunately it seems to progress over time as it moves from the upper to lower respiratory tract.
‘It’s often the second week where people will deteriorate and get significant viral pneumonia.’
He said the man’s wife was diagnosed about two days ago as her incubation period was longer than her husband’s but still within the usual two to 10 day window.
It was not known whether she contracted it from her husband or from someone else on board the ship.
Dr Robertson said coronavirus was ‘very different’ to the flu and the course it took in each patient varied significantly.
‘We’re seeing it more in the elderly and those with chronic diseases, we’re not seeing it in children almost at all, which is quite different to the flu,’ he said.
‘SARS was quite a serious disease but doesn’t spread as easily as this does.’
Dr Robertson said the cases were from the Diamond Princess and there were no recorded person-to-person transfers in Australia so far.
However, he conceded that the virus would inevitably spread in Australia as it had around the world.
‘We will get cases eventually, but more than 80 per cent of cases are mild. We shouldn’t be panicking at any time,’ he said.
‘It is now spreading in a number of countries and we’ve realised that we will get community spread in Australia in the next three to six months and we obviously need to prepare for that.’
People in protective clothing headed toward the ship as passengers fear crew who prepare the food on board are responsible for the transferal of the disease
Dr Robertson appealed for calm, saying the public needed to be ‘alert but not alarmed’ and take sensible precautions.
‘This doesn’t change anything for the status of coronovirus,’ he said.
‘We always knew this could be a very serious disease, particularly in those who are the more elderly and those who have chronic conditions.’
Dr Robertson said the man was put in isolation on the plane and has been in isolation ever since.
‘He was identified very early on, when he was on the flight back from the Diamond Princess, he was put in isolation, he was transferred to us, and obviously placed in isolation on arrival,’ he said.
‘He’s been managed in isolation ever since… there’s no risk to the general community or to staff.
‘There isn’t community spread within Australia, this very tragic case is still related to the Diamond Princess so the public shouldn’t be panicking at this stage.
‘All the cases are being managed very well.’
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