New coronavirus cases in Australia

Western Australian man 

becomes first person in 

Australia to die from 

coronavirus

7News,

1 March, 2020

A West Australian man has become the first person to die of coronavirus in Australia.

The 78-year-old was being treated in isolation at the intensive care unit of Perth’s Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital but died in the early hours of Sunday.

In the video above: Fifth coronavirus case confirmed in NSW

The man and his wife were one of the many Australians stranded on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

They were evacuated from Japan to the Howard Springs facility near Darwin, where the man was diagnosed.

His wife has also tested positive and remains in isolation in hospital in a stable condition.

WA Chief Health Officer Dr Andrew Robertson said the man’s wife and family had an opportunity to talk to him prior to his death.

Although it’s the first death in Australia, Robertson said there is no need for public panic.

“We still need to make the point very clear that there isn’t community spread within Australia,” he told reporters on Sunday.

“This tragic case is still related to the Diamond Princess so the public shouldn’t be panicking at this stage.

“I think people should be aware but not alarmed.

“This is the time that we need to prepare for cases that may occur for the future.”

The man had been in a stable condition earlier in the week but his condition deteriorated as the illness progressed.

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The man’s death comes as NSW confirmed its fifth case of the virus on Sunday, and Victoria confirmed its eighth case.

A man who had recently travelled to Iran is being treated a Sydney hospital, while the orian case is a passenger travelling on the Diamond Princess cruise.

At the same time, authorities in Queensland are trying to track down up to 40 patients who were treated by a Gold Coast beautician who contracted the virus.

The 63-year-old woman had also travelled to Iran and developed symptoms days after arriving in Australia.

Coronavirus: Contact tracing 

alert for customers of 

Queensland case

As many as 40 people may have been exposed to coronavirus after an infected woman worked at a Gold Coast shopping centre.

News.com.au,

29 February, 2020

“She did everything perfectly, we couldn’t have asked more of her,” Dr Young said, describing the woman as a “highly intelligent, very sensible lady”.

The woman works at Hair Plus salon in Australia Fair, a shopping mall in Southport, where she does “very brief” facial treatments and the risk of infection is “incredibly low”, Dr Young said.

However, authorities want to speak with any customers who were at the salon on Thursday from 11am that day.

“We think it’s around 30, maybe 40 (clients the woman saw). That’s the information we’re sourcing at the moment from the salon,” Dr Young said.

“But we know they don’t have records of a lot of these clients because a lot pay by cash and they just come in, it’s a very short interaction.”

Dr Young stressed QLD authorities were only concerned about tracking down those who had been inside the salon that day, not Australia Fair.

“If you went to Australia Fair but did not go to that particular hair salon on Thursday, there is no need for concern,” she said.

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There are now six confirmed cases of coronavirus in Queensland and a total of 23 across the country.

Among them are a 79-year-old West Australian woman who has tested positive after being evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

Globally there have been 84,119 confirmed cases of the virus and 2867 deaths. The vast majority of cases have occurred in China, however, there have also been major outbreaks in Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan. At least 45 countries have confirmed infections.