More than 40 Robins Air Force Base workers have recovered from the coronavirus

Forty-five positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed at Robins Air Force Base since the first case was reported March 21, while 41 individuals have recovered and one person has died, according to a Telegraph summary of base announcements.

Billed as “the largest single site industrial complex in Georgia,” the base employs more than 21,000 workers, according to the base website. Those workers include civilians and active duty and reserve military members.

New confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and recoveries are announced periodically on the base’s Facebook page and website. Base spokesman Roland Leach said the cases include both civilian and military personnel.

The base stopped providing cumulative case numbers and locations of residency because of “operational security considerations,” Leach said in an email.

On March 30, Defense Secretary Mark Esper ordered commanders at military installations worldwide to no longer publicly aggregate the number of COVID-19 cases among military personnel. Cumulative cases by military branch are available through the Department of Defense.

The Telegraph reviewed base COVID-19 announcements through 4 p.m. May 18.

April 6, the base announced its first death in a news release: a civilian contractor died April 3 after being treated for respiratory complications and later tested positive. No other deaths had been reported as of 4 p.m. Monday.

April 7, the base started announcing recoveries.

Bases are still required to disclose information to public health officials under Esper’s order.

“Whether an individual is tested on-base or off-base by a health practitioner and is positive for COVID-19, information about that person is coordinated between the Georgia Department of Public Health and Robins AFB before an announcement of a confirmed positive case is made,” Leach said in an email. “Details of reporting procedures should be directed to the Georgia Department of Public Health.”

The Georgia Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Daily Status report includes civilian and military personnel at Robins who live off-base who test positive for COVID-19, said Michael Hokanson, public information officer for the Northeast Central Health District. Those cases are added to the individual’s legal county of residence, he said.

Individuals who test positive who give an addresses outside of the state are added to the “Non-Georgia Resident” category of the report, Hokanson said. If the address is unknown at the time the result is reported to public health, it’s added to the “Unknown” category. This policy also applies to personnel visiting the base at the time of diagnosis.

Military personnel and their families living on base are reported as Houston County residents, according to Nancy Nydam, director of communications for the Georgia Department of Public Health.

“RAFB has access to the epidemiological program used by DPH so they add and manage their own cases while coordinating with us,” Hoakanson said in an email. “Because they use this program, state and local public health get the information simultaneously.”

RAFB announced May 7 its intention to begin bringing personnel back on base in stages. The base also announced later that afternoon that 78th Medical Group now had in-house laboratory testing for COVID-19.

That sped up the results process to just under an hour as opposed to a few days, according to a Facebook post. The base had been sending its test samples to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base just east of Dayton, Ohio.

Here’s a summary of announcements that include new cases or recoveries on the base’s Facebook page:

▪ March 21: Base announces its first positive COVID-19 case.

▪ March 23: Base announces it has two cumulative cases: one resides in Houston County and one in Henry County.

▪ March 25 and 27: Three cumulative cases reported: one in Houston County, one in Henry County and one residing on Robins Air Force Base. March 27 is the last time the base reports cumulative case numbers.

▪ March 29 and 30: Base announces a new case but without a place of residency on March 29. Base then announces no new cases and lists places of residency as Houston County, Henry County and Robins Air force Base on March 30. Leach later states in an email to The Telegraph that the residency of the new case is Houston County and that the base now has two workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 who live in Houston County. He declines to provide a cumulative number of cases. The assumption is that there are four total cases at this point.

▪ April 1: One new case with place of residency listed as Monroe County.

▪ April 2: Two new cases with places of residency listed as Houston County.

▪ April 3: Two new cases with places of residency listed as Houston and Sumter counties. This is the last time the base lists places of residency.

▪ April 5: Three new cases.

▪ April 6: One new case announced. Base issues media release on its first COVID-19 death that occurred on April 3.

▪ April 7: One new case and announcement of three recovered individuals.

▪ April 8: Two new cases.

▪ April 9: One new case.

▪ April 10: Two new. Base also announces that eight additional individuals have recovered since April 8.

▪ April 11: One new.

▪ April 13: Two new and three more recoveries.

▪ April 14: Three new cases and two new recoveries.

▪ April 15: One new case and two new recoveries.

▪ April 16: One new recovery.

▪ April 17: Four new cases and two new recoveries.

▪ April 18: One new case and two new recoveries.

▪ April 20: One new case and one new recovery.

▪ April 21: One new recovery.

▪ April 22: Four new cases and one recovery.

▪ April 23: One new case.

▪ April 24: One new case and one recovery.

▪ April 27: One recovery.

▪ April 29: One new case and one recovery.

▪ May 3: One new case.

▪ May 4: One new case and one recovery.

▪ May 5: One recovery.

▪ May 7: One recovery.

▪ May 8: Two new cases.

▪ May 11: Four recoveries.

▪ May 12: One new cases and one new recovery.

▪ May: 14 One recovery.

▪ May 16: One new case and one new recovery.

▪ May 18: Two recoveries.

This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 8:00 AM.