A beloved father and husband is the first person to die from the coronavirus in South Australia.

SA Health confirmed the 75-year-old man, who contracted the virus while interstate, died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital on Monday night.

Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said it was believed he also had some underlying health issues.

She said the death emphasised just how serious the virus could be.

"This is not just a statistic, it's a person who has been a real integral part of a family," she said.

"A very much beloved, father, husband and possibly grandfather as well."

Premier Steven Marshall said he had written to the man's family to pass on the condolences of everyone in SA.

"This is a very sad day for our state," he said.

The premier confirmed SA would, along with other states, maintain all the current restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19.

"We are still far too early in this disease to be lifting restrictions," he said.

"The work that we have done to date has essentially bought us time to make sure we can put the necessary preparations in place so that we save lives in Australia and save lives in South Australia.

"We've done well to date and we're grateful for that. We cannot take our foot off the brake."

So far SA has 411 confirmed virus cases. About 20 people have been hospitalised with about half of those in intensive care.

Also on Tuesday, state parliament was debating emergency legislation to deal with the pandemic including measures to protect local jobs and keep the state running.

"This comprehensive package strengthens the powers available to the state co-ordinator, taking a stronger approach to enforcing detention orders involving possible cases of COVID-19," Attorney-General Vickie Chapman said.

"The bill also ensures government officials acting under the direction of the Emergency Management Act are protected from liability, ensuring they can go about their duties freely."

The Labor opposition has presented its own legislation, including measures to ensure all frontline workers are covered by workers' compensation if they get COVID-19, tougher penalties for anyone convicted of assaulting a frontline worker if they know they have COVID-19 and electronic tracking for people who breach self-isolation or quarantine orders.