First Australian to die from COVID-19

On March 1, 2020 , a 78-year-old man, from Perth was the first Australian reported to “die from COVID-19”.  He was a passenger on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was forced to quarantine in the Japanese port of Yokohama.  “The Diamond Princess cruise ship had around 3,700 people on board, with 10 passengers confirmed to be infected with coronavirus.”

Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly told ABC radio that “over 80% of the people that get this infection, it’s relatively mild.”

At this point “87,508 people worldwide had been infected, and 2990 had died of COVID-19.