Queensland’s fourth coronavirus death linked to ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship

A Toowoomba man who succumbed to the deadly COVID-19 virus contracting it on the ill-fated Ruby Princess. Three of the four Queenslanders who have died from coronavirus were holidaying on cruise ships days before their deaths.

AN 85-YEAR-OLD man from Toowoomba has become the fourth elderly Queenslander to die from pandemic coronavirus, one of more than 400 passengers and crew who have developed the virus on the ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship.

Des Williams, who died in the Toowoomba Hospital, was among 74 Queenslanders diagnosed with the novel coronavirus after holidaying on the Ruby Princess, which docked in Sydney on March 19.

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His stepson, Craig Blackburn, said Des was a very religious man and served as a reverend in the Uniting Church.

“He was a loving family man, who loved his plants and his church … and his cream buns,” Mr Blackburn said.

“He loved spending time in his garden and growing succulents.

“He was a minister (in the Uniting Church) who went out in the four-wheel drive for Frontier Services, as the padre of the Burke and Wills Patrol.”

“He did that for about 10 years before he retired.”

Des Williams with his wife, Bev.

Mr Blackburn said while Des might have been 85, he acted like a 70 year old.

“You wouldn’t pick him as 85, as he was very healthy,” Mr Blackburn said.

“He had a lot of life left in him.”

Jacqui Blackburn, Craig’s wife, said Des had a strong spirit.

“He had a double knee reconstruction a couple of years ago and came out with no pain whatsoever,” she said.

“He recovered like a champion. Now if that doesn’t show how strong he was, I don’t know what does.

“This horrible virus got the better of him.”

Mrs Blackburn said Des would be missed terribly by the whole family.

“Our lives are so much better for having you in them,” she said.

“Fly high with the angels.

Des is survived by his wife Bev, two children, three stepchildren and nine grandkids.

“He loved everyone so much,” Mr Blackburn said.

The ill-fated Ruby Princess, which a Darling Downs man was on days before he died from coronavirus. Picture: Darrell Maddock

Queensland recorded 57 new cases yesterday, taking the state’s total to 835 – a jump of almost 7 per cent, maintaining public health authorities’ objective to “flatten the curve’, or slow the growth rate of infections.

Cruise ships have proven to be floating incubators for the virus.

Three Queenslanders and at least eight Australians, all in their 60s or older, have lost their lives to COVID-19 after being on a cruise, including five elderly Ruby Princess passengers.

More than 100 cases of the virus in Queensland have come off just three cruise ships – the Ruby Princess, the Ovation of the Seas and the Voyager of the Seas.

“Cruise ships, that is, any arrangement which puts people in close contact with each other … this virus loves those environments,” said Queensland Health Director-General John Wakefield.

Of the 24 Australians who have died from COVID-19, at least five have been residents of aged care facilities, emphasising why some nursing homes have been locked down, with family members denied entry.

While elderly Australians have borne the brunt of the virus in terms of deaths, the latest Federal Government data shows just 130 people in their 80s or older had been infected with the novel coronavirus until the start of this week.

Health Minister Steven Miles has extended his condolences to the family of an elderly man who died in Toowoomba Hospital from coronavirus. Picture Shae Beplate.

People in their 20s had the highest number of infections with 981 followed by Australians aged in their 60s, making up 778 cases.

Just 21 cases were recorded in infants aged four and under and 141 were in children and adolescents between five and 19 years of age.

Despite high numbers of deaths among doctors from COVID-19 overseas, Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said Queensland had not had any situation to date where a health worker had been infected with the virus as a result of their employment.

“In NSW and Victoria, there have been some healthcare workers who it’s thought probably contracted it at work,” Dr Young said. “But it was in a situation where they weren’t wearing any personal protective equipment.

“We’re reinforcing that with all our healthcare workers, if they see anyone who has any respiratory symptoms, they must wear a surgical mask. We have the stocks to enable us to absolutely support our healthcare workers to do that.”

Dr Wakefield said having adequate stocks of PPE - masks, gowns, gloves and goggles - was the bellwether for health workers in relation to how Queensland Health was looking after them.

“That keeps me awake at night and I am stopping at nothing to make sure that we leave no stone unturned to be able to make sure that when one of our staff members reaches for PPE, it’s there,” he said.

Dr Wakefield said although the state’s existing suppliers were “excellent”, Queensland Health was aggressively pursuing new manufacturers of PPE, as well as working with other areas of government to develop a local supply chain.

“It means going forward, we don’t have to rely upon production overseas, we’ve got the nous to do this here. We can do it and we will do it.”

Originally published as Queensland’s fourth coronavirus death linked to ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship