Coronavirus: Nathan Turner’s death not my fault, says nurse

The nurse under investigation as the possible source of Australia’s youngest COVID-19 death failed to disclose an overseas trip.

Nathan Turner.

Queensland Health minister Steven Miles on Friday expressed his frustration over a nurse’s failure to declare her overseas travels ahead of her diagnosis, amid an investigation to determine whether she is the source of Australia’s youngest COVID-19 death.

The nurse has said it is impossible she infected Queensland miner Nathan Turner­, as it emerged that she had failed to disclose an overseas trip before­ contracting the virus.

On Thursday, Queensland Health reinterviewed the nurse — who earlier this month worked at a Rockhampton aged-care facility while sick and waiting on a COVID-19 test result — over her movements ahead of Mr Turner falling sick.

The 30-year-old, who began showing symptoms three weeks ago, was 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.

It was only on Thursday that officials disovered that she had travelled to Kuala Lumpur in late March.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that someone would even lie to public health officials, their motivations are simply to keep Queenslanders safe” he told reporters on Friday.

“When a public health officer contacts you, it is important you are honest, truthful and fulsome with what you tell them.

“There are literally lives at risk.

“We need you to tell the truth.”

Last week, the suspended nurse was referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission for a possible investigation into an alleged breach of public health directions after working in the Rockhampton facility.

More than 200 residents and staff at the Rockhampton aged care facility tested negative to COVID-19 after the nurse first identified as having the virus.

Queensland Health tested more than 120 residents in the central­ Queensland town of Blackwater, which had not had any prior COVID-19 cases, and began analysing local sewerage to determine any transmission in the community.

Among those tested were 20 people who had “close contact with Mr Turner, with all returning negative results. Some of the 20 people had attended his birthday party earlier this month.

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.

Queensland Health has been investigating whether the nurse, who has not been identified, was the source of Mr Turner’s infection, saying in a statement she 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”.

On Thursday, Health Minister Steven Miles said he had since been advised that the link with the nurse was unlikely because Mr Turner had developed symptoms before the nurse went on her trip to Blackwater.

“My advice, via the Chief Health Officer, is that the timing of that trip means it’s unlikely she is the source of the infection, but it’s possible,” he said.

“Obviously it is a bit curious,” Mr Miles said of the explanation of the trip, which appears to have breached health directives that sev­erely limited travel at the time.

The organisation representing her, the Nurses Professional Asso­c­iation of Queens­land, told The Australian she was not required to tell authorities of her overseas trip and “it was irrelevant”.

“The only questions she was asked was about her movements before she was diagnosed,’’ a spokesman said. He disputed the claim that she had been in Blackwater early this month. Instead, he said, the nurse had visited the town on April 11 — weeks before Mr Turner began showing symptoms.

“She came back from overseas and self-isolated for 14 days, with a colleague bringing her food,’’ he said. “Our member finishes her self-isolation on April 10 and the next day she went to a lookout to see the sunrise, and then drove into Blackwater, took a picture, and left.’’

A Queensland Health spokesman would not comment about the contradictory dates.

The spokesman said the NPAQ would refer Keppel Labor MP Brittany Lauga to the Privacy Commissioner and Crime and Corruption Commission after she disclosed to local media inform­ation that the nurse had given to Queensland Health. When asked about the complaint, Ms Lauga said: “I better not say any more.’’