Nationally, Christchurch80-year-old George Hollings became the country's 20th victim of Covid-19 when he passed away early this morning. He was also the 11th casualty from the Rosewood Rest Home.
In a statement from the Ministry of Health this afternoon, Hollings' family described the man - who had been transferred to Burwood Hospital - as, "a real Kiwi bloke, a rough diamond, who loved his deer stalking".
The family also commended the staff who cared for Hollings: "We can't speak highly enough of the care Dad received. You've clearly chosen the best, most compassionate staff to work at Burwood."
The Ministry said Hollings was considered a probable case of Covid-19, and also had underlying health conditions.
Six new cases of Covid-19 were also reported today - two confirmed and four probable. Five of the cases could be traced to a known source with one still under investigation.
The new cases took New Zealand's total combined number of confirmed and probable cases to 1485, which included 1263 recovered cases (85 per cent).
Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Photo / File
Five people were in hospital around the country, none were in intensive care. Regarding testing, there were 5691 tests completed yesterday, taking the combined national total to 145,589.
There were still 16 significant clusters, however, three clusters were now considered closed as there was no further transmission of the virus associated with the cluster.
A Covid-19 cluster was considered closed after a total of 28 consecutive days – or two incubation periods for the virus – since its most recent report date of a reported case.
The three closed clusters were the Wellington wedding cluster (closed April 25) and the two clusters linked with group travel to the United States – one in Wellington and the other in Auckland – closed today.
