Chronology of COVID-19 in Defence
Below is a chronology of COVID-19 infection in the Australian Defence Force, indicating when each new case was added to Defence’s running total of cases (to the best of our observations).
Initially, Defence seemed happy to give some reportable detail of the infections saying of the first two cases that,”having tested positive to COVID-19, the members have been isolated and efforts to trace any contacts the members had are focussed on the two officers travelling to a meeting at Defence Headquarters, Russell, ACT on 28 February 2020″.
In reporting the third case, Defence simply added ‘1’ to their running total and a dot on their map indicating where the case was geographically located, but gave no other details (not even the town name the dot represented, which became an issue of confusion as time went on). The little black map was removed in favour of a simple table, in early November.
Nil information was to become the new norm – leaving CONTACT to pull together what relevant other information we could, just to ‘pad out’ our reports – or add our own (mostly cranky or sometimes humorous) editorial postulating.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We felt compelled to report Defence COVID-19 ‘news’ to our military-focused audience – not just news of disease spread, but also of what Defence was contributing to the whole-of-government fight against the virus.
Initially, our audience proved to be very engaged and information-hungry. Almost every post we made about COVID-19 was read significantly more than most other everyday news stories on our web site – and one in particular went viral. But, as time went on, COVID-19 faded in popularity, and ‘normal’ stories regained popularity.
While CONTACT is a ‘Defence friendly’ media outlet, there are others who aren’t. And if CONTACT has to ‘pad out’ stories in an information vacuum, we dread to think what other media will write about Defence, either during the crisis (when information vacuums are counterproductive – PR101?) or in the wash-up.
CHRONOLOGY:
Below is a chronology of when cases were added by Defence.
Because Defence simply added numbers to a running total on a daily basis, to the same web page, this chronology and extra detail was lost on the Defence web site.
We know from other experiences that our chronology will be useful for our own historical referencing one day. We hope it may be useful to others too.
Aside from these confirmed-infection case histories, other stories and information were also added. You can find all our COVID-19 coverage here.
20 May 2021: Defence deletes its running tally table from its ‘Daily Updates’ page and lets the ‘Daily Update’ page fall from the front of ‘National’ news to rest in the 21 April slot.
10 May 2021: 4 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 197 = total number of cases = no COVID19 in ADF)
4 May 2021: 5 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 193)
23 April 2021: Defence adds 195th, 196th and 197th cases – ‘overseas’ – 2 added to ‘recovered’ (total 189)
21 April 2021: Defence adds 194th case – 4 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 187)
19 April 2021: 8 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 183)
16 April 2021: Defence removes 1 case from total and ‘overseas’ list
12 April 2021: Defence adds 191st, 192nd-193rd and 194th cases – ‘overseas’
9 April 2021: Defence adds 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th and 190th cases – ‘overseas’ – 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 175)
29/30 March 2021: Defence adds 181st, 182nd, 183rd and 184th cases – ‘overseas’ – 3 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 173)
27 March 2012: Defence issued a special notice to explain that a member tested positive in Darwin quarantine on return from the Middle East. We assume this to be the 180th case. Defence recorded it as an ‘overseas’ case.
24 March 2021: Defence adds 178th and 179th cases – ‘overseas’
22 March 2021: Defence adds 175th, 176th and 177th cases – ‘overseas’
19 March 2021: Defence adds 173rd and 174th cases – ‘overseas’ – 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 170)
15 March 2021: 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 168)
11 March 2021: 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 166)
9 March 2021: Defence adds 171st and 172nd cases – ‘overseas’
4 March 2021: 1 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 164)
3 March 2021: 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 163)
2 March 2021: Defence adds 169th and 170th cases – ‘overseas’ – 5 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 161)
24 February 2021: Defence adds 168th case – ‘overseas’
22 February 2021: Vaccination of front-line ADF personnel begins
22 February 2021: Defence adds 166th and 167th cases – ‘overseas’
18 February 2021: 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 156)
16 February 2021: Defence applies new accounting rules – 34 cases shifted ‘overseas’ without explanation
15 February 2021: Defence adds 165th case – ‘overseas’
12 February 2021: Defence adds 164th case – ‘overseas’ – 5 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 154)
11 February 2021: 1 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 149)
10 February 2021: Defence reduced the number of confirmed cases ‘overseas’ to 100, to ‘correct’ earlier bad math
9 February 2021: Defence adds 2 cases (total still wrong) – ‘overseas’
8 February 2021: Defence adds 5 or 6 cases – ‘overseas’ – 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 148)
4 February 2021: Defence adds 156th case – ‘overseas’ – fixed ‘recovered’ (total 146)
2 February 2021: Defence adds 155th case – ‘overseas’ – subtracts 131 from ‘recovered’ list 😉
29 January 2021: Defence adds 154th case – ‘overseas’ – 6 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 145)
27 January 2021: Defence adds 153rd case – ‘overseas’ – 5 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 139)
25 January 2021: Defence adds 151st and 152nd cases – ‘overseas’
20 January 2021: Defence adds 150th case – ‘overseas’
19 January 2021: Defence adds 148th and 149th cases – ‘overseas’
18 January 2021: Defence adds 146th and 147th cases – ‘overseas’
15 January 2021: Defence adds 143rd, 144th and 145th cases – 1 ‘overseas’ and 2 in Queensland
14 January 2021: Defence ads 141st and 142nd cases – ‘overseas’ and NSW – 5 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 134)
13 January 2021: Defence adds 138th, 139th and 140th cases – ‘overseas’ – 7 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 129)
7 January 2021: Defence adds 136th and 137th cases – ‘overseas’
5 January 2021: Defence adds 135th case – ‘overseas’
4 January 2021: Defence adds 128th to 134th cases after Christmas break – ‘overseas’ and South Australia – 6 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 122)
21-24 December 2020: Defence adds 126th, 127th cases – no location – 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 116)
18 December 2020: Defence added 121st, 122nd, 123rd, 124th, 125th cases – 2 ‘overseas’, 2 Qld, 1 NSW – and added 2 to ‘recovered’ list (114)
16 December 2020: 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 112)
15 December 2020: Defence adds 120th case – ‘overseas’
14 December 2020: Defence adds 119th case – ‘overseas’
11 December 2020: Defence adds 118th case – ‘overseas’
10 December 2020: Defence adds 115th, 116th and 117th cases – 1 ‘overseas’ + 2 in NSW* (*see story for significant caveat)
9 December 2020: Defence adds 114th case – ‘overseas’
7 December 2020: 4 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 110)
5 December 2020: Defence adds 113th case – ‘overseas’
4 December 2020: 1 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 106)
1 December 2020: 3 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 105)
26 November 2020: Defence adds 112th case – ‘overseas’ – 4 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 102)
20 November 2020: Defence adds 109th, 110th and 111th cases – ‘overseas’ – 3 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 98)
16 November 2020: Defence adds 2+3 more cases – ‘overseas’
15 November 2020: Defence adds 103rd case – ‘overseas’
14 November 2020: Defence adds 102nd case – ‘overseas’
12 November 2020: Defence adds 101st case – ‘overseas’
11 November 2020: Defence adds 100th case – ‘overseas’
9 November 2020: Defence adds 99th case – ‘overseas’
8 November 2020: NZDF records first 2 cases of COVID-19
6 November 2020: Defence adds 98th case – ‘overseas’ – 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 95)
5 November 2020: Defence adds 97th case – ‘overseas’
4 November 2020: Defence adds 1 to ‘recovered’ list (total 93)
27 October 2020: Defence adds 94th and 95th cases – see story for best guess on locations (including one moved out of Melbourne, but returned the next day)
26 October 2020: Defence adds 93rd case in Sydney – 2 added to ‘recovered’ list (total 92)
8-12 October 2020: Defence removes one from ‘recovered’ list (total 90)
7 October 2020: Defence adds 92nd case – ‘overseas’
30 September 2020: Defence adds two to ‘recovered’ list (total 91 = ADF COVID free)
28 September 2020: Defence adds one to ‘recovered’ list (total 89)
23 September 2020: Defence adds one to ‘recovered’ list (total 88)
18 September 2020: Defence adds 91st case – no idea where
15 September 2020: Defence adds one to ‘recovered’ list (total 87)
14 September 2020: Defence adds 90th case – locations map accurate for the first time in days (putting the 89th and 90th cases in Sydney and overseas – but we don’t know in which order)
12 September 2020: Defence adds one to ‘recovered’ list (total 86)
10 or 11 September 2020: Defence adds 89th case – and adds 2 to recovered list (total 85)
9 September 2020: Defence adds one to ‘recovered’ list (total 84)
7 September 2020: Defence adds 88th case – location not indicated
31 Aug or 1 Sept: Defence adds 87th case – Melbourne – and adds 5 to recovered list (total 83)
23 August 2020: Defence adds 84th, 85th and 86th cases – Melbourne, Brisbane and ‘overseas
20 August 2020: Defence adds 2 to recovered list (total 78)
19 August 2020: Defence added 83rd case – Melbourne (see note at foot of linked story for date discrepancy)
18 August 2020: Defence adds 82nd case – ‘overseas’
17 August 2020: Defence adds 1 to recovered list (total 76)
13 or 14 August 2020: Defence adds 81st case – Melbourne – and adds 3 to recovered (total 75)
10 August 2020: Defence adds 80th case – either Melbourne or overseas – and adds 2 to recovered (total 72)
8 August 2020: Defence adds 79th case – either Melbourne or overseas (see story above)
5 August 2020: Defence adds 77th and 78th cases – Melbourne
4 August 2020: Defence adds 3 to recovered list (total 70)
1 August 2020: Defence adds 1 to recovered list (total 67)
31 July 2020: Defence adds 1 to recovered list (total 66)
30 July 2020: Defence moves yesterday’s Sydney case to Melbourne
29 July 2020: Defence adds 76th case – Sydney* (*see above) – and adds 1 to recovered (total 65)
28 July 2020: Defence adds 75th case – Melbourne – and adds 4 to recovered (total 64)
27 July 2020: Defence adds 74th case – took one away from overseas and added 2 in Melbourne
26 July 2020: Defence adds 72nd and 73rd cases – 1 each in Melbourne and overseas
22 July 2020: Defence adds 2 to recovered tally (total 60)
21 July 2020: Defence adds 70th and 71st cases – no idea where (possibly overseas)
20 July 2020: Defence adds 69th case – Melbourne – and adds 1 to recovered (total 58)
16 July 2020: Defence adds 68th case – unknown location (either ‘overseas’ or Melbourne)
16 July 2020: Defence adds 67th case – unknown location (probably Melbourne – see above) – and adds 2 to recovered (total 57)
13 July 2020: Defence adds 65th and 66th cases – overseas
9 July 2020: Defence adds 64th case – overseas
8 July 2020: Defence adds 63rd case – overseas
3 July 2020: Defence adds 62nd case – overseas – and adds 1 to recovered tally (total 55)
2 July 2020: Defence adds 61st case – Melbourne
30 June 2020: Defence adds 56th, 57th, 58th, 59th and 60th cases – overseas – and adds 1 to recovered tally (total 54)
23 June 2020: Defence adds 5 to ‘recovered’ tally, bringing total to 53
22 June 2020: Defence adds 55th case – overseas
20 June 2020: Defence releases statement about a case confirmed in PNG on 18 June (at this stage, we are assuming this is in relation to case number 54 rather than a 55th case)
19 June 2020: Defence adds 54th case – ‘overseas’ (intimates the 5 from previous week also overseas)
9 June 2020: Defence adds 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd cases – no idea where
2 June 2020: Defence adds 46th, 47th and 48th cases – overseas
26 May 2020: Defence adds 45th case (again) and declares 45 ‘recovered’ – (miracle cure?)
25 May 2020: Defence removes the stats added on 22/23 May (but not from their map)(new figures 44 cases, 40 recovered)
22/23 May 2020: ‘Recovered’ rises to 42 – (see linked story re date)
22/23 May 2020: Defence adds 45th case – Melbourne (see linked story re date)
20 May 2020: ‘Recovered’ rises to 40
20 May 2020: Defence adds 42nd, 43rd and 44th cases – two ‘overseas’ and one somewhere north of Sydney, but not as far north as what we were assuming was Newcastle (please enlighten us if you know)
8 May 2020: ‘Recovered’ rises to 37
2 or 3 May 2020 (see link why doubt): Defence adds 41st case – overseas
1 or 2 May 2020 (see link above why doubt): Defence adds 40th case – overseas
Also, 34 now listed as recovered
1 May 2020 (time not listed): Defence adds 35th, 36th, 37th, 38th, 39th cases – contracted in Middle East, now being managed in Darwin. Also, we were informed today (but it happened some time earlier), the one other case ‘overseas’ announced on 17 April is now being managed in Brisbane.
29 April (noon): Defence mentions for the first time that 32 cases had recovered
21 April (7pm): Defence adds 34th case – Perth
21 April (7pm): Defence reinstates the 5 cases removed on the 17th
17 April (2pm): Defence removed 5 cases from its locations map (without removing them from its running total)
17 April (2pm): Defence added 33rd case – ‘overseas’
14 April (1.30pm): Defence adds 31st and 32nd cases – Sydney and somewhere north, but not as far north as what we were assuming was Newcastle (please enlighten us if you know)
4 April (1.30pm): Defence adds 30th case – ACT
4 April (9am): Defence adds 29th case – Melbourne
3 April (12.30pm): Defence adds 28th case – Adelaide
2 April (11am): Defence adds 27th case – 1st case in Darwin
1 April (1.30pm): Defence adds 26th case – Adelaide
31 March (9am): Defence adds 25th case – ACT
30 March (2pm): Defence adds 24th case – Brisbane (also, the Oakey(?) case was moved to Brisbane (our assumption, given that Oakey is gone and Brisbane went up by one))
30 March (11.30am): Defence adds 23rd case – Brisbane
29 March (5pm): Defence adds 22nd case – west of Brisbane (Oakey perhaps?)
28 March (noon): Defence adds 21st case – Melbourne
28 March (9am): Defence adds 20th case – Sydney
27 March (9pm): Defence adds 19th case – Sydney
27 March (5pm): Defence adds 17th and 18th cases – ACT
26 March (4pm): Defence adds 16th case – Newcastle (?)
26 March (2pm): Defence adds 15th case – Adelaide
25 March (4pm): Defence adds 13th and 14th cases – Adelaide and a new dot which is likely Newcastle.
25 March (11am): Defence adds 12th case – Sydney
24 March: Defence adds 10th and 11th cases Only at this stage did we realise the importance of the daily map. At this stage, the cases were spread – 5 in Sydney, 2 in Adelaide, and 1 each in Brisbane, ACT, Melbourne and what we now think was Jervis Bay.
23 March: Defence adds 8th and 9th cases
22 March: Defence adds 7th case
21 March: Defence adds 6th case
14 March: Defence adds 5th case
13 March: Australian Submarine Corporation reports first case, in detail
11 March: Defence adds 4th case
10 March: Defence adds 3rd case giving no details in what was to become their new norm. This third case was also indicated on Defence’s map as being in Sydney.
9 March: First two Defence cases reported with contact-tracing details. The pair had travelled to Sydney for meetings, but were managed in Sydney.
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