The man, identified as 53-year-old David William John Sparenburg by Australian news outlets, was evacuated to Sanglah General Hospital shortly after his death, with Bali authorities attending the scene in full protective gear as a precaution against COVID-19.

“He’d been complaining of shortness of breath for a day, and was given medicine by his partner named Eka Surtika,” I Ketut Gede Oka Bawa, a spokesman from Badung Police, said.

“But in the early hours of Wednesday his condition worsened, he had difficulty breathing and then he died in the arms of his partner,” he continued.

Oka said police are now waiting for medical results to confirm his cause of death. 

In March, the death of a French man on a sidewalk in Denpasar stirred local residents after a team of medical staff with full protective gear evacuated his body, which is now a common precaution in Bali. While the Denpasar Police initially said the man’s death had nothing to do with coronavirus and suspected alcohol poisoning instead, it was later confirmed that he had tested positive for COVID-19. 

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