It was March 8, 2020. About a week earlier, a passenger on another cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, had become the first Australian to die of Covid-19. A few days after the Ruby Princess left Sydney, Australia, Mr. Karpik began to feel tired, weak and achy, court records show. By the time the ship returned to Sydney, on March 19, 2020, Ms. Karpik saw that her husband was shaking and barely able to walk or carry his luggage, according to court documents. Mr. Karpik, who was 72 at the time, spent nearly two months in the hospital, was placed on a ventilator, put into an induced coma and, at one point, given only a few days to live, court records show.

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Persons: Henry Karpik, Susan Karpik, Karpik Locations: Figtree, New Zealand, Sydney, Australia