Coronavirus: Infected nurse ‘kept changing her story’

Queensland’s Chief Medical Officer has accused a nurse of changing her story ‘so many times’ amid a COVID-19 inquiry.

Nathan Turner.

Queensland’s Chief Health Offic­er has accused a nurse of changing her story “many times” amid an investigation­ into her work at an aged-care facility while sick, as authorities attempt to determine if she is the source of Australia’s youngest COVID-19 death.

The nurse, already under investigation after she continued to work at a Rockhampton aged-care facility while sick and waiting on a COVID-19 test result earlier this month, failed to disclose an overseas trip. It was only on Thursday that officials discovered she had travelled to Kuala Lumpur in late March.

Authorities are trying to determine if she was the source of the infection of Nathan Turner, 30, found dead on Tuesday by his ­fiancee at their home in the mining town of Blackwater, with a test later indicating he was carrying the virus.

In a statement, Queensland Health said the nurse, who has not been identified, had previously disclosed driving to Blackwater “in the second week of May but did not interact with other individuals there’’.

The Australian reported she said she had gone to the town of about 5000 to “watch the sunrise”.

The organisation representing her, the Nurses Professional ­Association of Queensland, disputed the claim that she had been in Blackwater early this month. Instead­, an NPAQ spokesman said the nurse had visited the town on April 11 — weeks before Mr Turner began showing symptoms.

Queensland Health has not commented on the discrepancy in the dates.

On Friday, the state’s Chief Health Officer, Jeanette Young, said the nurse’s “story has changed so many times’’.

“She gave us one story and then subsequent to that we found out additional information,” Dr Young said. “We need to try and untangle and sort that through.”

But NPAQ spokesman Jack McGuire dismissed the comments. “Dr Young and (Health Minister) Steven Miles continue to bully and vilify the nurse,’’ he said. Mr McGuire said she was not required to tell authorities of her overseas trip and that she had self-isolated for two weeks on her return­. He said the overseas trip was irrelevant.

A post-mortem is to be conduct­ed to determine whether COVID-19 was the cause of death of Mr Turner, who also suffered ­severe asthma and seizures and had been on workers compensation since November.