Covid 19 coronavirus: What we know about the 18 deaths

There are two new deaths in New Zealand from Covid-19, taking our total toll to 16. There are only three new cases in New Zealand, the smallest number so far.

Eighteen deaths have now been linked to Covid-19 in New Zealand since the start of the pandemic.

The most recent deaths was announced in a statement by the Ministry of Health today.

She died after being transferred to Waitākere Hospital from CHT St Margarets Hospital and Rest Home and is the second person to die from the home.

Bob and Bev James, right, with son Robert McIlwraith-James. Photo / Supplied

Here's what we know about the cases:

March 29: Anne Guenole, Greymouth

The 73-year old who lived a quiet life in the West Coast was the first coronavirus-linked death in New Zealand.

Anne Guenole died on March 29, early in the morning. She'd been admitted to Grey Base Hospital in Greymouth only days earlier with suspected influenza.

Her son-in-law Brett Cummings told The Herald Guenole suffered from a temperature and bad diarrhoea but didn't have a cough.

Anne Guenole, 73 years, was the first Kiwi to die of the coronavirus. Photo / Supplied

The great-grandmother had been offered a ventilator but after the risks were explained to her she chose to stay on oxygen.

She was immediately housed in the hospital's isolation room, with her children, nurses and doctors wearing gloves and masks. But medical staff did not wear eye protection and as a result 21 staff self-isolated afterwards, as did her family.

Cummings said it was "bizarre" that the life-long West Coaster caught the virus as she led a quiet life.

Guenole, who lived in Kaiata, outside Greymouth, barely travelled and only drove the 5km from her home to town, where she parked on the fringes and walked in, he said.

She'd only been in contact with one traveller that the family knew of, her son Peter who had returned from Australia five weeks earlier. Ten days before she fell ill she'd attended a funeral in Greymouth.

Guenole had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung disease that causes breathing difficulties, but it was well controlled using medication and she kept active.

April 9: Unnamed, Christchurch

A woman in her 90s died in Christchurch on April 9.

She was one of the 20 Rosewood rest home residents moved to Burwood Hospital in an effort to halt the spread of the virus and the first death linked to the cluster.

Deputy Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay said the woman, who had recently tested positive for the virus, had underlying health conditions.

Lockdown restrictions meant her family weren't able to visit her or be with her before she died in hospital.

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Hospital staff did all they could to provide her comfort before her death, McElnay said.

April 10: Bernard Pope, Christchurch

He trained some of the country's best boxers, but it was Covid-19 which eventually took out one of the legends of the sport, Bernard Pope.

The 78-year-old was also a resident at Rosewood and was transferred to Burwood Hospital where he died on April 10.

Fellow boxing coach Phil Shatford, 63, said it was Pope who taught him everything he knew on the path to the national coaching stage and eventually a Queens Service Medal for his services to boxing.

Boxing coach Bernard Pope. Photo / Supplied

"Bernie was my boxing coach for many years. After that he was basically like a father to me for many years."

He had his first boxing match under Pope's wing aged 13.

The last time he saw Pope was just prior to the nationwide lockdown.

"Bernie has been in a few homes. Rosewood was the last one he was in obviously. I would go and see Bernie heaps of times. I only went to Rosewood about three times because, oh, it was so sad seeing the guy in that sort of state."

After years as a boxing coach, Pope was the glove steward and life member of the Canterbury Boxing Association.

April 10: Chrisanthos (Christo) Tzanoudakis, Wellington

The 87-year-old, originally from Crete, died at Wellington Public Hospital on April 10.

Tzanoudakis was admitted to hospital on March 28, after falling ill two days before.
He had underlying health conditions.

The father-of-two had lived in Wellington for 50 years and was well known in the Greek community.

Tzanoudakis' son was the groom at the Bluff wedding, to which 96 coronavirus cases are now linked.

Chrisanthos (Christo) Tzanoudakis, 87, died in Wellington after contracting the coronavirus. Photo / Supplied

One of the founders of the Cretans Association of New Zealand, he served as the president for some years.

Current president Stamatis Nikitopoulos announced Tzanoudakis' death with "a heavy heart" on Facebook.

"He was a very much-loved man by all his family and friends and a well-respected member of the Cretan Associations and the broader Greek Orthodox Community in Wellington."

He said Tzanoudakis' family wanted to grieve for their "loving, kindest and warmest father and grandfather".

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April 13: Unnamed, Christchurch

The third Rosewood rest home resident to die from the virus was a man in his 80s.

He'd been moved from the home to Burwood Hospital, where he died on April 13.

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Bev and Bob James. Photo / Supplied

April 13: Bob James, Wellington

Within days of returning to New Zealand last month from their trip along the New South Wales coast on Voyager of the Seas, Bob and Bev James were in an ambulance heading to Wellington Hospital.

They both had Covid-19. On April 13, Bob, 79, died.

The couple of 43 years had been on 35 cruises together and lived in a retirement village at Raumati Beach.

Bev is recovering and isolating in Kapiti but her son Brian Greenough told the Herald she was in a frail state mentally.

The family are in touch with a lawyer about the lawsuit against Royal Caribbean for its handling of the ship and its passengers.

Unnamed, Christchurch

A man in his 90s with underlying health conditions died at Burwood Hospital.

The Rosewood rest home resident had underlying health conditions, Bloomfield said.

Unnamed, Christchurch

Another resident linked to the Rosewood cluster died - a man in his 80s.

Bloomfield said he had tested positive for Covid-19 and had underlying health conditions.

Unnamed, Christchurch

The sixth death linked to the Rosewood rest home was that on a man in his 90s.

The man had underlying health conditions and was a confirmed coronavirus case.

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April 14: Alister Peter Brookland, Invercargill

Brookland died in his home in Invercargill in what is the country's first community death from the disease.

Known as Barney, the grandfather of six died peacefully at home with his wife Joan by his side in the suburb of Kingswell, in Invercargill on April 14.

The couple had been married for 48 years. In a death notice he was described as a loved father and father-in-law and grandad.

Brookland, in his 70s, had "indirect" links to the Bluff wedding cluster which has been connected to 96 cases.

It is understood his wife worked for Invercargill City Council where several employees had tested positive for Covid-19.

Denis Albert Moore. Photo / Supplied

April 16: Denis Albert Moore, Matamata

Moore, 94, is linked to one of the country's biggest clusters, a St Patrick's Day event at the Redoubt Bar in Matamata.

The British World War II veteran is believed to have contracted the virus from a relative who works at a different hospitality venue in town.

Moore had been living at home with family, and was admitted to hospital "very unwell" before his death at Waikato Hospital.

April 16: Unnamed, Christchurch

A woman in her 80s from Rosewood also died at Burwood Hospital.

She was transferred from the rest home on April 6.

The woman had an underlying health condition.

Her family was also not able to be with her, but a staff member at Burwood Hospital was with her when she passed away.

April 20: Auckland

Auckland's first death from the disease was a woman in her 70s who lived at St Margaret's rest home in Te Atatu - the site of one of the latest coronavirus clusters.

She had underlying conditions.

Unnamed: Christchurch

Another woman in her 80s from the Rosewood rest home cluster has died.

The woman had been considered a probable case.

She had not been tested for the virus but was treated as a confirmed case based on her exposure history and clinical symptoms.

Invercargill woman Jocelyn Finlayson with her grandson. Photo / Otago Daily Times

April 22: Jocelyn Finlayson: Dunedin

Invercargill woman Jocelyn Finlayson, 62, died overnight in Dunedin Hospital ICU after battling Covid-19.

She last left her home on March 17 before going into lockdown with her family in Invercargill.

After she became unwell on March 28 she was tested on April 1 then returned home. She got her results on April 3 and was admitted into Southland Hospital on April 4.

She was later flown to Dunedin Hospital when she was put on a ventilator on April 6 and died on April 22.

Five other family members - including a toddler and a baby - also caught Covid-19.

The family was unsure of how she contracted the virus, her son Will Finlayson said.

Arrangements were made for her family to be with her as she passed away.

Finlayson's daughter Nicole was initially elated when she heard Bloomfield as his press briefing on April 21 describe her mother's condition as stable and thought it must have changed since they had spoken to doctors that morning.

"I rang my dad to see if he had received a further update from the hospital, he hadn't. I rang the hospital and they confirmed she was still critical. This was a little heartbreaking," she told RNZ.

Bloomfield apologised for any anxiety this caused.

Unnamed: Christchurch

A man in his 70s from Rosewood died in the rest home's hospital unit.

The man initially tested negative for the disease but was a probable case and included in the mortality statistics.

Unnamed: Christchurch

A man in his 60s from Rosewood died.

April 24: Auckland

The Ministry reported on April 25 that a woman in her 70s died in Waitakere hospital. She had been transferred from CHT St Margarets Hospital and Rest Home and is the second resident from the home to die.

She had underlying health conditions, the Ministry said in a statement.

"Waitakere hospital staff were able to support daily visits by a family member in the days prior to their passing.

"The family have thanked both the staff at CHT St Margarets and Waitakere Hospital for the professional and compassionate care provided to their mother."