THURSDAY, MAY 28
Concerned residents in the small central Queensland town of Blackwater are queuing in their cars to get tested for COVID-19 after a 30-year-old man’s death from the virus yesterday.
An emergency fever clinic was set up in Blackwater’s showgrounds this morning after Nathan Turner was discovered unresponsive by his partner at their home in the central Queensland town.
Contact tracers on the ground in Blackwater have identified 20 contacts of Mr Turner.
Health Minister Steven Miles said 18 have returned negative results and two were outstanding.
Another 31 people have been tested at the hospital since yesterday and another 91 are booked in for today.
Mr Turner’s death comes after an unidentified Rockhampton nurse tested positive for the virus earlier this month after she broke government enforced lockdown rules to travel to the town.
Health authorities have confirmed the nurse travelled to Blackwater in the second week of May, before testing positive.
The woman reportedly told contact tracers she drove to Blackwater to “see a sunset”.
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.
Blackwater man Nathan Turner is the youngest person to die of coronavirus in Australia.(Facebook)
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.
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Queensland Police have discovered two naked and malnourished teenagers locked in the room of a house where a dead body was also found.
Police officers arrived at the property on Midson Street in Stafford in the city’s north on Wednesday morning.
They were responding to reports of the sudden death of a man and found the 49-year-old’s body inside. While in the home, it’s understood officers heard noises coming from a locked bedroom and found two men aged 17 and 19 inside.
They were living in squalid conditions, naked and underweight. According to Nine News, the pair suffer from intellectual disabilities.
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson told news.com.au they attended the address after a call at 7.19am yesterday for a “medical incident”.
Paramedics assessed the pair at the scene and they were transported to Prince Charles Hospital.
Queensland’s Minister for Child Safety Di Farmer described the incident as “horrific”.
“Hearing about events like this in our community is never easy,” Ms Farmer said.
“My thoughts are with these two young men who are getting the support and care they need.”
Queensland Police declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the young men.
It would only say that the older man’s death is not believed to be suspicious, but they will wait on the results of a post-mortem examination.
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Two men have been charged as part of an ongoing investigation into suspicious betting activity into last year’s NRL Dally M medal, NSW Police say.
The men, aged 29 and 31, have been charged with using inside information to bet on the event.
Police will allege the men placed bets on the 2019 Dally M coach of the year award winner, Melbourne Storm’s Craig Bellamy, with prior knowledge of the result.
Police will also allege the men shared the information with other people.
The Dally M medal is the NRL’s premier award and is bestowed upon the competition’s best-and-fairest player.
The NRL Integrity Unit reported the suspicious betting activity in October, NSW Police said.
Detectives raided two homes and a business in Sydney as part of the investigation, and seized several documents and devices.
The accused will appear in Downing Centre Local Court in August.
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