An elderly Perth man who spent time on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship has become the first Australian to die after contracting coronavirus — which the AMA has likened to the deadly Spanish flu.

Key points: The man and his wife were among the cruise ship evacuees flown back to Australia

The man and his wife were among the cruise ship evacuees flown back to Australia He remained in isolation in a Perth hospital for the duration of his illness

He remained in isolation in a Perth hospital for the duration of his illness His 79-year-old wife is also among Australia's 25 confirmed coronavirus cases

His death was confirmed by Western Australia's chief health officer Andrew Robertson.

The 78-year-old man and his 79-year-old wife were among the 3,700 people — including 164 Australians — on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship when cases of coronavirus began to emerge.

Passengers were placed under isolation, but the virus continued to spread on the ship, with hundreds of people testing positive including another WA man, who was taken off the ship to be treated in Japan.

The elderly couple were initially flown to Howard Springs in the Northern Territory where Australia's Diamond Princess evacuees were sent.

The man was flown home to Perth just over a week ago. ( ABC News )

And just over a week ago they arrived back in Perth where the man was in isolation at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

The couple's daughter-in-law was also on the cruise ship and remains in Howard Springs.

The man's wife issued a statement on Sunday afternoon.

"My husband passed away peacefully knowing that his family loved him," she said.

Premier Mark McGowan said the strict quarantine conditions would have made the man's death even more tragic for his relatives.

"It would have been awful, they couldn't go in and touch him or hold his hand, it would have been so tragically sad," he said.

"You don't want to leave this world without someone holding your hand."

Mark McGowan says the coming months could provide greater risks. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

Mr McGowan said modelling had shown that the coming months would present a higher risks of the virus spreading

"The modelling indicates that potentially, in late April or May, there may be greater spread of the illness here in Australia, and at that point in time obviously we would need to ramp up some of our activities," he said.

"The peak would then hit us in potentially August, which is obviously not a great month because our coldest months with the highest level of flu."

In WA on Tuesday morning there is due to be a public sector leadership meeting about the state's approach to COVID-19 and cabinet ministers will be briefed by the chief health officer.

On Wednesday morning there is set to be a Security and Emergency Management meeting in Perth, including the Police Commissioner, health department staff and heads of other services, to plan what emergency response may needed for coronavirus in WA.

'No risk to the general community'

On Friday, the Health Department confirmed the man's wife had also recently tested positive for coronavirus.

Dr Robertson said the woman remained in a stable condition in hospital.

"She had the opportunity to talk to him prior to his death, but she's understandably quite upset. And I obviously ask that people respect their privacy," he said.

Dr Robertson said the man's family was also able to speak to him on Saturday night by phone or through the glass in the isolation unit before he died this morning.

He said no members of the public had been put at risk by the man's diagnosis.

"He was identified very early on, when he was on the flight back from the Diamond Princess, he was put in isolation, he was transferred to us, and obviously placed in isolation on arrival.

"He's been managed in isolation ever since … there's no risk to the general community or to staff.

"He was in a negative pressure room and then in intensive care and they were very confident that the protection equipment they were using was more than adequate."



Dr Robertson said the man's family had the opportunity to speak to him before his death. ( ABC News: Emily Piesse )

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt sent his condolences to the man's family, and said the news would also be upsetting for the other Australians at Howard Springs.

He said with the virus continuing to spread across the world, it was almost inevitable that Australia would see more cases in the coming weeks.

The virus has now been detected in 61 countries including Ecuador and San Marino.

Mr Hunt said the latest developments supported the Government's announcement yesterday of a travel ban on foreigners coming to Australia from Iran.

"The decision to impose a travel ban on non-Australian citizens was in our view, the right move with regards to the rapid spread and very high death rate, which indicates a far higher undetected rate in Iran," Mr Hunt said.

Mr Hunt also said the appropriate level of advice for Italy was under discussion.

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He said the Government was meeting daily with state and territory health officials to prepare for whatever challenges the virus brought.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted his condolences and reassured Australians the Government was doing all it could to protect the community from the coronavirus.

"Am very saddened at the death of an elderly Australian man from Perth, who contracted COVID–19," Mr Morrison said.

"We join his family and friends in mourning his passing. COVID–19 is especially more severe for older people with other frailties.

"We are monitoring and responding to the information we are receiving every day. We are not immune, but we are as prepared as any country can be and we will get through this."

Australia now has 27 cases of coronavirus, with two new cases confirmed in the past 24 hours, including the 10th from the Diamond Princess — a 78-year-old Victorian man who is being flown to his home state for isolation.

He is said to be in "good" condition.

Death should be a 'wake up call': AMA

"I think it's a wake up call … for the general public," Andrew Miller, the president of the WA branch of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), said.

"I guess we're used to being warned about things, and as Australians we tend to say she'll be OK and it will work out on the day, but in this instance we really do need to take a call to prepare very seriously."

Dr Miller said it was very unlikely the man's clinical course would have been different if he had been taken off the cruise ship earlier.

"So what we're seeing is that it can be quite mild for the first week or so and then it goes downhill from there," he said.

"Particularly people over the age of 65 or 70, they're the ones that seem to be getting the sickest from it."

GPs feeling 'vulnerable'

Dr Miller said the AMA was still working with the Government to fully understand its plans for tackling the virus.

"We are feeling particularly vulnerable in general practices because they do not have the equipment to properly deal with patients turning up with this disease," he said.

"We need to be thinking about tripling the ED [emergency department] capacity and doubling the ICU [intensive care unit] capacity. And the staff to run these things are not available at the moment.

"It's [coronavirus] likely to pop up in Western Australia by someone who's been in a country where they don't know they've been exposed to the virus or have any symptoms," Dr Miller said.

"The truth is we probably haven't seen a virus like this one since 1918 with the Spanish flu, so I understand why it's been a little slow to get the wheels going.

"It's not a time to panic. It's not a time to be moving to the hills. It is a time to be thinking about what will we do if this hits, how will it affect our life and what can we do to help others."

WA Premier Mark McGowan said his thoughts were with the man's family, particularly his wife who was still being treated for the virus.

"It's obviously a tragic event for them and the circumstances obviously were very, very distressing," he said.

But he urged people not to panic in light of the man's death.

"All West Australians should continue to do what we ordinarily do … go to work, attend functions and events and engage with family and friends," he said.

Mr McGowan said if the situation changed, people would be given all of the relevant advice.

Queensland authorities have been working over the weekend to track down up to 40 people treated by a Gold Coast beautician who was later diagnosed with the virus.

The 63-year-old woman had recently returned from Iran and started feeling ill on Thursday while working at the Hair Plus salon in the Australia Fair shopping centre at Southport.

Earlier on Sunday, NSW Health confirmed the fifth case of coronavirus in that state.

A man in his 40s, who recently returned from a trip to Iran, is being treated at Westmead Hospital in western Sydney after experiencing mild symptoms.

NSW Health is urging people who have recently returned from Iran to ensure they are aware of coronavirus symptoms and seek immediate help.

A second woman who returned from Iran to Sydney was also diagnosed with the disease later in the day, with NSW Health urging anyone who was on her flight — Qatar Airways QR908 on Sunday February 23 — to monitor themselves for symptoms.