A Queensland man has died in a Toowoomba hospital on Wednesday afternoon to become Australia’s ninth fatality from the coronavirus.
The ABC reports that Garry Kirstenfield, 68, from Toowoomba was in the intensive care unit when he died.
Mr Kirstenfield, whose family described him as “kind and adorable”, is believed to have contracted COVID-19 on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that docked in Sydney last week.
Queensland Health said that the man “had a serious underlying medical condition before contracting the virus”.
It reports that Mr Kirstenfield’s wife is in self-isolation, together with the rest of his immediate family.
He is the second Queenslander to have died after a 77-year-old woman died on March 15 from the virus in Sydney after a flight from the Sunshine Coast.
As at 3pm on Wednesday, Australia has 2423 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 287 cases in 24 hours.
Queensland has a total of 443 cases, less than half that of New South Wales’ 1029.
Victoria has 466 cases, while Western Australia (205), South Australia (197), the ACT (44), Tasmania (34) Northern Territory (five) account for the remainder.
Earlier, Queensland Health confirmed that four staff members at a popular Noosa restaurant and more than a dozen revellers had tested positive for COVID-19 after a birthday party last week.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the celebration at Sails Restaurant was a prime example of why people must stay at home.
“This is how coronavirus can spread,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“It is a very clear signal to everyone that this is now not the time to socialise, it is the time to keep your distance.”
“I think this is a really clear example for everyone about why we can no longer have parties.”
