The death of Nathan Turner, 30, has sparked a major health emergency in Blackwater, with a special COVID-response team sent to the town in an effort to trace the source of his infection.
Key points:
- Blackwater man Nathan Turner is the youngest person to die with coronavirus in Australia
- A Rockhampton nurse who tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month had recently travelled to Blackwater
- Queensland Health says there's no evidence to suggest the two cases are linked
Queensland Health said Mr Turner had a "complicated" medical history, had suffered with respiratory symptoms since May and tested positive to the virus following his death on Wednesday afternoon.
How Mr Turner picked up the infection remains a mystery.
It is believed the miner had not been at work since November nor travelled outside Blackwater since February.
The Central Queensland town, with a population of 4,700, has not had a case of COVID-19 before.
A large-scale fever clinic is being set up at the Blackwater Showground for residents to get tested.
Health authorities said they have no reason to link Mr Turner's case with a nurse whose diagnosis sent an aged-care home in Rockhampton into lockdown, however the matter is being investigated further today.
The Health Department has confirmed the nurse, who has since been suspended, had travelled from Rockhampton to Blackwater, on May 14.
However, Queensland Health said they did not believe the two cases were linked given Mr Turner had been showing symptoms before this date.
"Contact tracing information provided to Queensland Health for the Central Queensland case identified on May 14 was that the individual travelled to Blackwater in the second week of May but did not interact with other individuals there," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"Information provided to Queensland Health about the case identified today indicated the man had respiratory symptoms since the first week of May.
"At this time, no evidence has been provided to Queensland Health that links the two cases. But we will continue to assess all information relevant to any case."
Nurse travelled to town to 'watch sunset'
Health Minister Steven Miles said the nurse initially advised contact tracers that she had visited Blackwater to "watch a sunset".
"That is what she had told us previously but we were trying to talk to her again yesterday just to get more details," he said.
Mr Miles said it was "a fair way" to go for a round trip but there was still no confirmed link between the pair.
"It is possible that there is some kind of connection there or it could just be a coincidence, so that's what our investigators are working on," he said.
"The dates don't really line up from when he got sick — it is a bit of a mystery."
It is almost 200 kilometres from Rockhampton to Blackwater and on May 14, when the nurse travelled, Queenslanders were forbidden to travel long distances without exemptions.
Mr Miles said that if the Rockhampton nurse's trip was for a non-essential reason she would have been breaching another health directive.
Second COVID-19 test negative
Queensland Health has confirmed a second coronavirus sample that was taken from Mr Turner was negative.
However, Mr Miles said it was a poor sample and was considered invalid.
"The Chief Health Officer advises me that she doesn't believe that that second test is valid but we'll know for sure once the full post mortem has been conducted."
Mr Turner's partner also has coronavirus symptoms and is in quarantine at home in Blackwater.
Her initial COVID-19 test returned a negative result.
She worked at the local Fairbairn bakery, which has been closed temporarily following Mr Turner's death.
Ambulance officers who attended the scene of Mr Turner's death are also now in quarantine.
The front desk of the Blackwater police station is also closed and the town's three local police officers are in quarantine.
It is not clear what mine Mr Turner had been working at, however Central Highlands Mayor Kerry Hayes said local mines were continuing to operate.
"They've continued their work operations under very, very stringent conditions, and obviously in many cases they've exceeded those," he said.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA1LTI4L2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLXF1ZWVuc2xhbmQtYmxhY2t3YXRlci1tYW4tZGVhdGgtcm9ja2hhbXB0b24tbnVyc2UvMTIyOTE0ODTSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTIyOTE0ODQ?oc=5
2020-05-27 22:37:08Z
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