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Blackwater mystery: Tracing the cause of Australia's youngest COVID-19 death

<p>A 30-year-old miner known as Nathan Turner is the youngest Australian to die from coronavirus.</p> <p>It was only discovered that he was suffering from the virus after he was discovered dead at his home.</p> <p>This is the first care recorded in Blackwater, 190km west of Rockhampton, and Queensland Health is trying to figure out how Turner was infected.</p> <p>Turner had not worked since November and hadn’t left Blackwater since February.</p> <p>An unidentified nurse from Rockhampton tested positive for the virus earlier this month after she broke government enforced lockdown to travel to the town.</p> <p>She reportedly told contact tracers that she had visited Blackwater to “see a sunset”, but Queensland health have suggested the two have not had contact.</p> <p>"The [nurse] travelled to Blackwater in the second week of May but did not interact with other individuals there," the spokesperson said.</p> <p>"Information provided to Queensland Health about the case identified today indicated the man had respiratory symptoms since the first week of May.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>State Health Minister Stephen Miles said Blackwater residents weren’t told of the nurse’s visit because it was deemed low risk.</p> <p>“To my knowledge, she drove there, watched the sunset, and drove back – didn’t leave her car," he told ABC radio on Thursday.</p> <p>He said authorities are now looking into whether there is a link between the cases.</p> <p>"It’s possible that there is some kind of connection there, or it could just be a coincidence," he said.</p> <p>"That’s what our investigators are working on. Those dates don’t really line up with when he got sick. It is a bit of a mystery and it could just be a coincidence.”</p> <p>However, Deputy CMO Paul Kelly said that it was worrying that someone from a remote area had fallen ill.</p> <p>“It shows that there is community transmission of some sort,” he told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.</p> <p>“We haven’t had many people in rural areas in any state and so at this point in the pandemic it is a concern.</p> <p>“I understand that he had been sick for some weeks and I guess he hadn’t assumed that it was COVID-19. It is another very strong reminder to all of us at this point that if anyone has any symptoms that are of a respiratory virus.</p> <p>“It might feel like a cold, it could be COVID and we really want to get that test done.”</p> <p><em>Photo credits: <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-27/coronavirus-testing-queensland-death-dies/12287058" target="_blank">ABC</a></em></p>

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TripAdvisor reveals Australia’s best hotels for 2019

<p>TripAdvisor has recently announced the winners of its Travellers’ Choice Awards for Australian hotels in 2019.</p> <p>If it sounds like an impressive feat, that’s because it is. The top winners have been judged by the millions of reviews and opinions collected in one year from users on TripAdvisor. You don’t even have to be Australian-based to vote, as many were visitors from around the world.</p> <p>These are the top five places as voted by millions of TripAdvisor users. Click through the gallery to see what they look like!</p> <p><strong>1. Ovolo Woolloomooloo, Sydney NSW </strong></p> <p>This hotel boasts modern luxury, but also adds a sense of history as it’s right along the Woolloomooloo Wharf in Sydney. It’s a stone’s throw away from the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge and has accessible rooms as well as free wi-fi.</p> <p><strong>2. Pinetrees Lodge, Lord Howe Island  </strong></p> <p>Reviewers couldn’t be happier with this secluded lodge in Lord Howe Island, as the hotel is a nice escape from everyday life. With snorkelling, surfing and much more on offer, as well as spectacular rooms, it’s easy to see why reviewers keep coming back.</p> <p><strong>3. Ovolo 1888, Darling Harbour, Sydney NSW </strong></p> <p>This hotel caught people’s attention for its location and the unique history that surrounds the hotel, as it was originally constructed as a wool store and factory in 1888. The hotel, whilst still remaining modern, brings together the charm of olden days Sydney whilst still providing a level of comfort.</p> <p><strong>4. Peninsula Boutique Hotel, Port Douglas, QLD </strong></p> <p>This hotel overlooks the famous Four Mile Beach and is exceptionally close to Macrossan Street, where there are a variety of shops and restaurants to choose from. With a tiered heated pool as well as being close to the beach, you can’t ask for much more than that.</p> <p><strong>5. Korte’s Resort, Rockhampton, QLD </strong></p> <p>Located at the beautiful location of Rockhampton, Queensland, guests were very pleased with the tropical oasis on offer from Korte’s Resort. Reviewers were a fan of the reasonable rates, as well as the cleanliness and modern stylings within the rooms.</p> <p>Have you stayed at any of these places? Which one was your favourite? Let us know in the comments.</p>

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Rockhampton family says funeral home swapped $1,700 coffin for cheap box

<p>When Rockhampton woman Janice Cecilia Valigura passed away at the age of 74 on New Year’s Eve, her family understandably wanted to give her a beautiful, respectful send-off. As such, they chose a “gorgeous” oak coffin worth $1,700 from Harts Family Funerals.</p> <p>However, when they arrived at the crematorium, they found their expensive, ornate casket purchased from Harts Family Funerals had been switched with a cheap pine box after the requiem mass had ended, and that all the personal letters written by Janice’s children and placed on her heart had been tossed inside.</p> <p>“[The funeral director] knew the family would have gone to a huge effort to give Janice a respectful send-off and what she was put in was absolutely degrading to my aunty,” Janice’s niece Kerry Rothery told the <em><a href="https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/police-investigate-shocking-rocky-coffin-switch-cl/3307524/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Rockhampton Morning Bulletin</span></strong></a></em>.</p> <p>Shockingly, Kerry was told by the director, Tony Hart, that the practice was “commonplace”. On Tuesday, he told the <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/funeral-director-on-coffin-switch-body-put-in-cheap-pine-coffin-to-save-real-one-from-cracking/news-story/cddc56c283bb91de4ea60aeccb9a93f1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Courier Mail</span></em></strong></a> he had switched the coffins to prevent the expensive one cracking in the cold, since a delay at the crematorium meant Janice’s casket had to be returned to the freezer.</p> <p>“The coffin she was cremated in was the same one that the family bought,” Hart claimed, denying he had ever cremated someone in a different coffin to the one purchased, nor had he ever re-used a coffin.</p> <p>There are now calls for a huge overhaul to the industry which Timothy Button, founder of Just Cremate Me, said has “no regulation at all”. </p> <p>“I think they’re just money-hungry,” he told <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/funeral-homes-alleged-1700-coffin-switch-a-new-low/news-story/7b45707dfcf067a3ed130731522b4f69" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">news.com.au</span></strong></a>.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Kerry Rothery.</em></p>

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