Truth and facts are the first victims of war and mass panic. Below is a compilation, based on verified data from state and federal health departments, of the progress of COVID-19. It’s been compiled by digital communications specialist Juliette O’Brien, who, like Crikey, believes data is beautiful — and very, very helpful.
Where they are in Australia
^ Data note: the Federal Department of Health’s numbers are based on the patient’s state or territory of residence, not where they were when the case was detected. For example, a case previously reported in the NT was a NSW resident and therefore is counted as a NSW case. This site uses that approach, even though state and territory health authorities generally report COVID-19 cases based on their locality.
Overseas and local transmissions
^ Data note: difference between ‘unknown or undisclosed’ and ‘unknown’ = some health departments have not immediately released transmission sources nor specified whether the case is still under investigation. These instances have been categorised as ‘unknown or undisclosed’ until they are confirmed. Where the health authority has said the transmission source is unknown or still under investigation, these cases have been categorised as ‘unknown’.
^ Most local transmissions have occurred in NSW. The NSW Ministry of Health releases details about whether cases are still under investigation (generally the most recent cases) or where the epidemiological link is unknown.
Travel histories
^ Travel history to Wuhan, China, accounted for Australia’s early COVID-19 cases. They were all linked specifically to Wuhan. The Diamond Princess cruise ship led to another 10 Australian cases. Since the end of February, cases have come from outside China, most notably Iran, Italy and USA.
About the people affected
^ A 78-year-old man from West Australia was a passenger on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship. He died on 1 March 2020.
A 95-year-old female resident of the BaptistCare Dorothy Henderson Lodge aged care facility in Sydney, NSW, died on 3 March 2020.
An 82-year-old man who was also a resident at the aged care facility in NSW died on 8 March 2020.
A 77-year-old woman from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, died on 13 March 2020. She was in NSW at the time.
A 94-year-old woman who was also a resident at the aged care facility in NSW died on 14 March 2020.
^ The baby was an eight-month-old boy who tested positive along with his mother, a 40-year-old woman who returned to South Australia from Iran.
Local transmissions and sites
^ Data note: meaning of ‘unknown’ in this chart = in some instances, the state health authority has said they have not yet been able to establish the epidemiological links of specific COVID-19 cases. However, the majority of ‘unknown’ cases here refer to either newly confirmed cases that are still under investigation, or where health authorities have not readily released the information and it is yet to be confirmed for the purposes of this site. This figure should not necessarily be interpreted as ‘unknown’ transmission sources to health authorities in general. These values will be confirmed as soon as possible.
This data is curated from Juliette O’Brien’s website and is all her work.
Juliette is a digital journalist and producer whose passions are for civic media and technology. Her academic and professional backgrounds are in journalism and law.
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