What we know about all 232 cases of COVID-19 in Tasmania
Today marks one year since Tasmania’s first case of COVID-19. Since 232 Tasmanians were infected with the coronavirus, which authorities believe originated from a wet market in Wuhan, China. See what we know about every case >>
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ONE year on from Tasmania's first case of COVID-19, we take a look back at all 232 Tasmanian cases.
On March 2 Tasmania recorded its first case of coronavirus when a 40-year-old man touched down in the state on February 29 via Malaysia and Melbourne from Iran, which, at the time was a hotbed for the virus outside of China.
It was only several days before another man, this time in Hobart became the state’s second case. The man, in his 20s, arrived in Tasmania on 26 February after being in Nepal, transiting through Singapore and Sydney to Hobart.
He experienced some initial cold-like symptoms late on February 26.
After developing further symptoms he contacted the Public Health hotline on March 6 and was then tested at the Royal Hobart Hospital, where he remained in isolation.
On March 12 a third case was diagnosed, again in Hobart. The woman in her 30s travelled to Australia from South America via New Zealand and arrived in Hobart on March 8.
The state then received a flurry of diagnoses:
March 13: A woman in her 40s was diagnosed after travelling to Australia from the Philippines and was kept in isolation at a UTAS accommodation facility in Launceston.
March 14: A man in his 60s was diagnosed after travelling to Australia from North America and arrived in Tasmania on March 10. He was kept in the Royal Hobart Hospital.
March 15: Two more coronavirus cases were diagnosed.
A woman in her sixties was diagnosed in Hobart. She was a travel companion and identified close contact of a previous Tasmanian case, who had recently travelled overseas.
She was already in isolation when she was confirmed positive and was treated at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
The second woman, in her 50s, was a close contact transmission aboard a privately-chartered yacht.
March 17: The Director of Public Health, Dr Mark Veitch, declared a Public Health Emergency for Tasmania to help manage the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
March 18: Three more cases were diagnosed in Southern Tasmania.
One woman and two men in their forties who had all recently returned from overseas.
The woman travelled in the United Kingdom, and the men travelled through several European countries before returning to Australia.
March 21: Six more cases were diagnosed.
One woman who travelled from the United Kingdom, and three cases from the Ruby Princess and a man and a woman who travelled in Europe together.
March 22: Six more cases were diagnosed, with a total of 15 in the South, two in the North, two in the North West and three from interstate.
Two people had recently returned from the United States, two were from the Ruby Princess cruise that arrived in Sydney on March 19 and one was from the Ovation of the Seas cruise that arrived in Sydney on March 18.
Another case was diagnosed overnight on March 21.
March 23: Six more cases were diagnosed, bringing the state’s total to 28.
Four of the new cases are from the Ruby Princess cruise ship, one from the Celebrity Solstice, and another case that had recently returned from overseas.
Three of the cases were from northern Tasmania and the other three were from the South.
March 24: Eight new cases were diagnosed, bringing the state’s total to 36.
Director of Public Health Mark Veitch said seven of the new cases were from southern Tasmania, with one from northern Tasmania.
March 25: Six new cases were diagnosed, bringing the state’s total to 42.
Two of the cases were aged in their 70s, one in their 60s, one in their 50s, one in their 30s, and one is in their 20s. Four of the cases were women and two were men.
Two of the cases had been on cruise ships. One case was a close contact of a previously confirmed case and three had recently travelled to Tasmania from overseas.
Public Health Director Dr Mark Veitch also said despite the increasing number of cases, there was no evidence of community transmission in the state “as all the cases are directly or indirectly linked to overseas travel.”
March 26: Five more cases were diagnosed, bringing the state’s total to 47.
Two of the cases were children, two aged in their 30s, and another in their 70s. Three of the cases were from the state’s north and two were in the North West.
All five were passengers on the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas.
March 27: Cases surged, with 11 people diagnosed with COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 58.
Acting Director of Public Health Scott McKeown said five of the cases were from Northern Tasmania, four from Southern Tasmania and two from the North-West.
Two of the cases were aged in their 20s, two in their 30s, two in their 40s, two are 50s, two in their 60s and one in their 80s. Seven of the cases were men and four were women.
One of those diagnosed was a health worker in the state’s North-West.
March 28: Four new cases were announced, one diagnosed overnight and three more that evening bringing the state’s total to 62.
One of the cases was from the North-West, one from the north and one from Southern Tasmania.
Two of the cases were related to recent overseas travel and one was linked to the Voyager of the Seas cruise ship.
March 29: Four new cases were diagnosed, bringing the state’s total to 66.
Four new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Tasmania on Sunday, bringing the number of cases diagnosed in the state to 66.
Three cases were associated with the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas and one with Voyager of the Seas. All cases were already in self quarantine.
March 30: Three new cases were diagnosed, bringing the state’s total to 69.
One of the new cases is a close contact of a known case, another recently arrived from overseas, while the third was a cruise ship passenger.
Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch said all three cases were women.
“Two are from Southern Tasmania and one is from the North-West,” he said.
Dr Veitch said Public Health Services continued to investigate two cases in the Devonport area to determine their source of infection.
It is thought these may be the first cases of community transmission in the state.
An elderly woman in the state's North-West was the state’s first coronavirus casualty.
March 31: The state records its first day with no positive coronavirus diagnoses for two weeks. An elderly man was the state’s second death.
April 1: Two new coronavirus cases were diagnosed outside of the state, who had toured Tasmania’s visitor hotspots. Another two Tasmanians were diagnosed.
“One was likely to have been infectious with coronavirus from March 12. The other from March 19,” Public Health Director Dr Mark Veitch said.
“Neither person was aware they had coronavirus while they were in Tasmania and did not present for either medical care or testing.”
Both local cases were men. One was from Southern Tasmania and one was from Northern Tasmania. One was aged in their 20s and the other in their 70s.
April 2: Three new cases were diagnosed. One of the cases was employed by a tour company that hosted the two interstate people while infected with coronavirus.
April 3: Six new cases were diagnosed bringing the state’s tally to 80.
Five of the cases were women, one was a man. Two were from Southern Tasmania, two were from Northern Tasmania, and two are from the North-West. Those infected were aged from their 20s to their 70s.
April 4: Two more cases were diagnosed.
One was from Northern Tasmania and the other was from the North-West. One victim was a child and the other was woman in her 20s.
April 5: Four more cases were diagnosed.
Two were from Northern Tasmania and two were from the North-West. One aged in their 40s, one in their 60s and two in their 70s.
One was associated with the cruise ship Ruby Princess, one was a contact of another case and two from the North-West.
This brought the state’s total to 86, with four health workers and one patient from North West hospitals diagnosed with COVID-19 and an outbreak is declared.
April 6: Three more cases were diagnosed.
Public Health Director Dr Mark Veitch said two of the cases were women and one a man. One was Southern Tasmania while the other two are from the North-West. Two are in their 50s and one in their 80s.
April 7: Nine more cases were diagnosed.
Six of the cases were women, three were men. One hails from Southern Tasmania, and eight are from the North-West.
Three are aged in their 20s, two are in their 30s, one in their 40s, one in their 50s, one in their 60s and one is in their 70s.
Eight of the cases were related to the outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital.
Six of those diagnosed were NWRH staff. One was a recent inpatient, and one was a close contact of a previous NWRH case.
An elderly man was also the state’s third coronavirus death.
April 8: Nine more cases were diagnosed.
Eight of the cases were women; one was a man. One case was from Southern Tasmania and eight were from the North-West.
One of the cases had recently returned to Tasmania from the United States. Another case was a close contact of a previously identified case.
Three of the cases were healthcare workers who worked at the North West Regional Hospital and/or the North West Private Hospital.
Four of the cases were patients who have recently received care at both NWRH and NWPH.
April 9: Four more cases were diagnosed.
Three of the cases were healthcare workers who worked at the North West Regional Hospital and/or the North West Private Hospital.
One of the cases was a close contact of a previously identified case.
April 10: Eleven more cases were diagnosed.
Ten of the cases were from the North-West and only one from the South. Nine of the cases diagnosed were women and two were men. One was a teenager, two were in their 20s, three were in their 30s, one was in their 40s, one was in their 60s and three were in their 70s.
Eight of the cases were healthcare workers who worked at the North West Regional Hospital or the North West Private Hospital and two were patients at the NWRH.
April 11: Eleven more cases were diagnosed.
All of the cases are from the North-West. Seven of the cases were women, four were men.
Three of the cases were in their 20s, five were in their 30s, one was in their 40s, and two were in their 60s.
April 12: Eleven more cases were diagnosed.
All of the cases were from the North-West. Eight of the cases were health care workers. One was a patient at a North West hospital and two were close contacts of previously confirmed cases.
A North-West coast resident became the fifth COVID-19 death in Tasmania.
April 13: Six more cases were diagnosed.
All six cases were from the North-West. Three of the cases were health care workers, one case was a patient and two were close contacts of previously confirmed cases.
Four cases were male, two were female; their ages ranged from the 20s to 70s.
April 14: Fifteen more cases were diagnosed.
Fourteen cases were diagnosed in the state’s North-West, and the origins of one case was still under investigation.
Seven of the cases were female, eight were male, with victims’ ages ranging from their 30s to their 90s.
April 15: Four more cases were diagnosed.
All of the cases were diagnosed in the state’s North-West.
Two of the victims were women and two were men. One was in their 40s, two were in their 50s and one was in their 80s.
April 16: Eleven more cases were diagnosed, bringing the state’s total to 180.
Ten cases were from the state’s North-West and one from the South.
Seven were women and four were men. Three of those were staff members at the North West hospitals.
Four were close contacts of previously diagnosed cases linked to the outbreak.
Two were patients at the Mersey Community Hospital who were previously in the NWRH.
Public Health Services also announced a healthcare worker with COVID-19 had worked shifts at both the North West Regional Hospital and the North West Private Hospital had also worked at nursing homes and was undertaking contact tracing and testing.
April 17: Four more cases were diagnosed.
All of the cases were from the North-West, with three women and one man affected.
One was aged in their 50s, one in their 60s and two in their 70s.
Two were healthcare workers who have worked at either the North West Regional Hospital or the North West Private Hospital.
One was a former patient of the NWRH and one was a close contact of a confirmed case.
A 72-year-old man at the Mersey Community Hospital was the state’s seventh death.
April 18: Four more cases were diagnosed.
Acting Public Health Director Scott McKeown said all four cases were from the North-West, and all were men.
Two were in their 30s, one in their 50s and one in their 70s.
Three were healthcare workers who have worked at either the North West Regional Hospital or the North West Private Hospital and one is a close contact of a confirmed case.
April 19: Nine more cases were diagnosed.
Two were close contacts of a confirmed case while one was a nursing home resident.
April 20: Five more cases were diagnosed.
Tasmania’s coronavirus tally reached 200, with five more cases confirmed.
Acting Director of Public Health Dr Scott McKeown confirmed all of the cases were from the North-West.
All were women — four were aged in their 50s and one was aged in her 80s.
The state government did not provide any further details on the people who had tested positive, including links to affected hospitals and aged care homes.
April 21: One more case was diagnosed.
The case was a North-West man, aged in his 90s.
Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch confirmed the man was a patient at the North West Regional Hospital.
“A concerted effort is being made to identify any further cases of coronavirus in the North-West,” he said.
April 22: Four more cases were diagnosed.
Director of Public Health Mark Veitch said all four new cases were from the North-West and included three women and one man.
One person was in their 20s, one in their 30s, one in their 40s and one in their 50s.
“Two of the cases are healthcare workers who have worked at either the North West Regional Hospital or the North West Private Hospital,” Dr Veitch said.
April 23: No new cases were diagnosed.
It was the state’s first day with zero new cases since March 31, meaning Tasmania’s infection tally remained at 205.
Director of Public Health Mark Veitch said a concerted effort was being made to identify any further COVID-19 cases in the North-West breakout area.
April 24: Two new cases were diagnosed.
Two men ages in their 20s and brought the state’s tally up to 207.
Acting Director of Public Health Dr Scott McKeown said both cases were from the North-West and were close contacts of a previously confirmed case.
The day also incurred Tasmania's ninth death.
April 25: One new case was diagnosed.
A North-West healthcare worker was diagnosed with coronavirus, bringing Tasmania’s infection tally to 208.
The day also incurred Tasmania's tenth death.
April 26: Four more cases were diagnosed.
All cases were from the North-West. Three of the confirmed cases were women and one was a man. They were aged in their 20s, 30s 50s and 70s.
All cases were directly or indirectly linked to the outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital.
Two were healthcare workers who worked at the NWRH, one was a recent inpatient at the NWRH, and one was a close contact of a previous NWRH healthcare worker case.
April 27: Two more cases were diagnosed.
The cases were a man and a woman from the North-West, one aged in their 20s and the other in their 60s.
Both were close contacts of previously confirmed cases.
Dr Veitch said people in the North-West, particularly in the Smithton or Circular Head area, were urged to seek testing if they were experiencing any respiratory symptoms.
“There’s been an excellent uptake in testing,” he said.
“Quite a number of those people tested in the North-West have been healthcare workers who are participating in the Return to Work program, but there are also a number of people in the North-West coming out of the community to be tested.”
April 28: Four more cases were diagnosed.
“Three of the cases are in the North West, one is in the North,” Director of Public Health, Dr Mark Veitch.
“Three of the cases are women, one is a man.
“One is aged in their 20s, one is in their 40s, one is in their 50s, and one is in their 60s.
“Three cases are healthcare workers from the North West, and one is a close contact of a confirmed case from the North West.”
April 29: One more case was diagnosed.
Tasmania only recorded one new case of coronavirus, bringing the state’s total to 219.
Director of Public Health Mark Veitch said the woman was from the North-West.
“The case is a woman, aged in her 20s, who is a healthcare worker from the North-West,” he said.
April 30: Two more cases were diagnosed.
The two cases were in the state’s North and North West, bringing the state’s total to 221. Director of Public Health Mark Veitch said one case was a man and one case was a woman.
“One case is aged in their 50s, the other is in their 70s,” he said.
May 5: Two more cases were diagnosed.
After a four-day streak of no positive COVID-19 diagnoses, two more cases were diagnosed.
The diagnoses brought Tasmania’s total number of confirmed cases to 223.
One case was from the North-West, the other was from the North. One was a woman and one was a man.
One was aged in their 70s and the other was aged in their 40s.
May 6: One more case was diagnosed.
An initial report from Public Health indicated there were no new cases of coronavirus diagnosed in Tasmania between 6pm May 5 and late evening May 6.
However another case was announced early the following day on May 7, bringing the state’s total to 224.
The man, who was in his 30s, was a close contact of a previous positive case and lived in the North-West.
May 7: One more case was diagnosed.
A man in his 60s became Tasmania’s 225th case. He was from Southern Tasmania.
May 15: Tasmania's 226th case was diagnosed, after a week with no cases.
Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch said the case was a man aged in his 70s, from Northern Tasmania.
A woman who was in hotel quarantine in Hobart has tested positive to COVID-19 and was being treated in hospital.
Acting Director of Public Health Dr Scott McKeown said the Public Health Services were conducting contact tracing when he confirmed the case on Monday evening.
This brings the state’s total to 227 cases.
August 11: Tasmania reached 228 cases after a man in his 60s returned from Melbourne infected.
The man had been undergoing health treatment which required him to travel to the mainland. He was admitted to the North West Regional Hospital.
“I have just been advised by our state health commander that a man in the 60s, who was recently transported from a Victorian hospital to the North West Regional Hospital, after receiving medical treatment in Melbourne, has tested positive for coronavirus,” Mr Gutwein said at the time.
Premier Peter Gutwein said the coronavirus cases were expected, given the high risk nature of international travel and repatriating stranded Australians.
One woman and two children tested positive. The woman and children were part of a family of four. The husband was also been tested, but did not have COVID-19.
December 10: One new case of COVID-19 was diagnosed, bringing the state's total to 232.
The one new case was the father of the family that contracted COVID-19 and was announced on December 8.
Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch said the father was re-tested and diagnosed with COVID-19, after producing a negative test the day prior.
More to come...
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