Population density isn't as low as you might think. Sure, if you spread the entire population across the entire continent, it's very low but we don't do that.
More than a fifth of the population lives in Sydney, a fifth lives in Melbourne - add in Brisbane, and you've already got more than half the country in three cities. And that's where COVID is. The cities are pretty spread out so they are not massively high density either but they are not really low density either.
But the 1,000+ Covid-assigned deaths are for the whole country. Currently almost all your 1,186 Covid-assigned deaths have been in Victoria (836 out of 6.7 million) and NSW (314 out of 8.2 million), meaning virtually a zero Crude Morality Rate (if calculation is correct). And as far as relative population density is concerned:
Compared with the population density of other countries such as that of the United States, which is 35.71 persons per square kilometre, Australia has only 3 persons/km2. It also has a lower density than Canada’s 4 persons /km2,
Demographia cited Melbourne as geographically Australia’s largest urban area, at 2,453 km2, and is known to be the 32nd largest city in the world. According to Demographia’s list, out of the 1,040 cities surveyed, Melbourne’s population density of an estimated 1,500 people/ km2 is ranked 955th.
The same Demographia-sponsored survey listed Sydney as 43rd in terms of urban footprint size (2,037 km2). Whilst it recognises that Sydney is Australia’s most populous city at approximately 1,900 people/ km2, like Melbourne, it also belongs in the bottom list as it ranked 936th in population density.
Dr. Michael Grosvenor of the University of Queensland, an urban planning expert, believes that some demographers are using inaccurate measures on the Australian population density. ...The Australian urban planner said that if the measure considers the residents of Potts Point, Chippendale, and Ultimo, which are inner-city suburbs located east of Sydney and are about two to three kilometres from the city’s central business district (CBD), then population density would rise to above 15,000 people/ km2. Another inner suburb of Sydney is Parramatta, which can be considered as densely populated with 4,800 people/ km2. - https://www.spacer.com.au/blog/population-density-how-does-australia-compare-to-the-rest-of-the-world
However, using that tactic one could compare certain areas of NYC with the above.