The Canberra man who died of coronavirus in Canberra on Friday was the father in law of federal Labor MP Ged Kearney.
Ms Kearney took to social media to post a tribute to her late father-in-law, Mike.
The 82-year-old who died in Canberra Hospital on Friday becoming the ACT's second coronavirus death.
The Labor MP said her "much loved and loving" father-in-law had done his best to isolate but had become sick suddenly, had been admitted to hospital and died seven days later.
"In fact I believe he only went outside a couple of times in the whole month to shop," she said on Facebook.
"We actually teased him because he had bought 5kgs of rice and 10 tins of chic peas and 10 cans of tomatoes - for just him and his lovely wife Wendy. Panic buying we said! But of course it was the right thing to do.
"He became ill quite suddenly, was admitted to hospital and 7 days later he died.
"Now his Canberra family is in isolation and Wendy, nearly 80, must grieve on her own, in their house alone, away from hugs and kisses and tears and drinks and friends and family. My heart breaks for her and her kids and my Leigh.
"Death in the time of coronavirus is hard."
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She said people who saw there had been a 30th death might have thought numbers were "getting up there" or that was "OK compared to other countries".
"Please, don't let these figures just become nameless statistics to you," she said.
Ms Kearney also thanked Australians for doing the right thing by staying at home during the pandemic but urged people to not become immune to the numbers.
"Every death is sad and felt deeply by someone. I know most people are finding kindness and helping out at every turn, and I am feeling the caring nature of our community first hand," she said.
"I know you know what you must do to curb the deaths, I don't need to tell you.
"Please - Just do it, and keep doing it."
ACT chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman offered condolences to Mike's family and friends.
"My thoughts are with you in this very difficult time," she said, when announcing the death on Saturday.
"Every death is tragic and its not something any of us wishes we were here talking about today."
Dr Coleman said the sad reality of this disease was the elderly and the vulnerable were at an increased risk of complications.
"It is especially to protect these vulnerable groups that we all need to take the physical distancing measures we are implementing seriously," she said.
"Stay at home as much as possible and only go out when you need to. If you do leave the house for essential reasons, like shopping, exercising, for medical reasons or to work, please limit the amount of interaction you have with other people.
"Try to keep a 1.5m distance from people outside of your household group, wash your hands regularly - for 20-30 seconds each time, and cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
"These measures will give us the best chance to slow the spread of this disease and protect our most vulnerable."
There was an additional two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the ACT over the past 24 hours, bringing the territory's total to 93.
One man and one woman aged between 40 and 53 were diagnosed with the virus. One of the new cases was linked to overseas travel and the other was a close contact of a previously confirmed case.
There were 13 people being treated for coronavirus in Canberra hospitals at mid-afternoon on Saturday.
Some very sad news from our friend and colleague Ged Kearney. #stayhomepic.twitter.com/Nuuy0648xu
— Chris Bowen (@Bowenchris) April 4, 2020
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- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
- If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)
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