The death of 30-year-old Nathan Turner last week had baffled authorities and placed the small central Queensland town of Blackwater on high alert after an initial coronavirus test following his death returned a positive result.

Hundreds of Blackwater locals were tested for the virus and a team was sent in to investigate how Turner had become infected despite the fact he had not worked for six months or left the mining town since February.

On Monday night, Queensland Health confirmed that Turner had returned a negative result to the virus following a second test.

“The Coroner tonight advised that further tests have returned negative for COVID-19,” the state’s chief health office Jeannette Young said in a statement.

“He is yet to determine the man’s cause of death.”

Turner had serious underlying health issues before experiencing coronavirus symptoms in the weeks before he died.

He was not tested for the virus while alive.

The revelation has sparked anger and confusion, with an online petition calling for Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Dr Young to apologise to Turner’s family and community receiving more than 2700 signatures by Tuesday morning.

“Your leadership created emotional, mental and physical trauma,” the petition states.

Opposition leader Deb Frecklington also backed the calls.

“There are some serious questions to be answered today,” she told radio station 4BC.

“I really feel for Mr Turner’s family and the people of Blackwater.

“We’ve got a community that is up in arms.”

During the investigation into Turner’s death, Queensland Health Minister Stephen Miles had said that authorities had not ruled out a link to a Rockhampton aged care nurse who had driven a 400-kilometre round trip to Blackwater to see the sunset following two weeks in quarantine.

She was infectious at the time but had not yet returned a positive test.

The same nurse sparked the lockdown of a Rockhampton aged care centre earlier this month after she continued to go to work while sick and before she had received the results of a coronavirus test.

Australia’s official coronavirus death toll now stands at 102.