Something in the water? Investigators test SEWAGE in a bid to find out how miner, 30, contracted deadly coronavirus
- Nathan Turner, 30, was found dead at his house in Blackwater, QLD on Tuesday
- Authorities are investigating how the virus made its way to the isolated town
- Town’s wastewater will be tested and a drive through testing clinic established
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Scientists will test the sewage of an entire town to try and determine the source of Australia’s youngest deadly case of coronavirus.
Mystery surrounds how Nathan Turner, 30, caught COVID-19 having not left the small central Queensland town of Blackwater since February.
Mr Turner, who was also epileptic and asthmatic, was found dead by his partner at the house they shared on Tuesday afternoon.
Mystery surrounds how Nathan Turner, 30, caught COVID-19 having not left the small central Queensland town of Blackwater since February
Mr Turner’s partner and friends at their house in the Queensland town of Blackwater
Authorities have established a drive through testing clinic at the town to identify if the virus has spread further as investigators try to uncover the source.
The wastewater testing could also reveal how many people in Blackwater may have been exposed or unknowingly have the virus if the traces are detected.
Investigators are also working to ‘untangle’ the changing story of a nurse at the centre of two coronavirus scares in Queensland to determine if she could be the source.
The unnamed nurse has been suspended from her job after she continued to show up for work at a Rockhampton nursing home when she had coronavirus symptoms and while waiting on test results.
Questions are also being asked about a sightseeing road trip she took to Blackwater during the coronavirus lockdown.
Mr Turner became Australia’s youngest coronavirus fatality on Tuesday with authorities no closer to pinpointing how he contracted the virus.
Mr Turner suffered from chronic illnesses and was later found to have the virus. A coroner will determine what killed him.
Deputy Premier and Health Minister Steven Miles says a formal investigation would get to the bottom of critical questions, including the fact that the nurse had not revealed she had travelled to Kuala Lumpur in late March.
‘It appears to be incredibly unlikely that somebody wasn’t asked if they had travelled overseas when that is such a focus of our investigation efforts for all coronavirus cases,’ he said on Friday.
He urged all Queenslanders to be honest, truthful and fulsome if they are contacted by health officials.
‘Lives are literally at risk, our public health officials are doing their best to keep Queenslanders safe,’ he said.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said it was fortunate no one at the North Rockhampton Nursing Centre, where the nurse worked, had contracted coronavirus.
Residents who were moved out of the centre will slowly be returned.
A roadside testing clinic has been establish to determined if coronavirus has spread further in Blackwater