A West Australian man has died from coronavirus, marking the first Australian death from the deadly virus outbreak.
The West Australian reports that the 78-year-old unnamed victim passed away overnight after being treated at Perth’s Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
WATCH: Australian man dies from coronavirus
The man was transported from a Darwin quarantine camp after being transported from Japan, where he was quarantined aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
His wife was also infected with the COVID-19 virus. She is now in isolation at a Perth hospital.
A total of 164 Australians were quarantined on the cruise ship after one confirmed case of coronavirus was confirmed with a passenger who had disembarked in Hong Kong.
WA’s chief health officer Andrew Robertson confirmed the news of the mans passing.
“It doesn’t change anything for the status of coronavirus,” he said.
“We always knew it would be a serious virus, especially for the elderly.”
Dr Robertson also revealed the man’s wife is devastated.
As of Saturday, the federal Department of Health had tallied 25 confirmed cases of coronavirus across Australia.
A man returning from Iran has also been confirmed in NSW, which raises the state’s confirmed cases from four to five.
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