A 19th passenger from the Ruby Princess has died, bringing the nation’s coronavirus death toll to 63.

The woman, aged in her 60s, died in the Canberra Hospital after contracting COVID-19 while aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

The NSW government has now launched a special commission of inquiry into the tragedy, in addition to the criminal investigation which started in early April.

7 News reporter Taylor Auerbach has been following the Ruby Princess story since day one, dubbing it a “completely avoidable” disaster as early as March 8.

When passengers were allowed to board that day, he tells Ben, “an unforgivable percentage were effectively condemned to death”.

“What is the point in testing people, and then allowing them to mix through the same gangplanks, holding the same railings, standing in the same queues, spreading across Australia and indeed the world, before the tests results came back?

“This was not some obscure germ doing the rounds in the back alleys of south-east Asia, this was already a world war that required the attention of the Australian army, no less.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: NSW Police