A Kāpiti Coast rest home resident in his 70s has died from the coronavirus.
The man and his wife fell ill while in self-isolation at their Coastal Villas apartment, Chief Executive Officer of Metlifecare Glen Sowry said.
They had returned to the village from overseas travel four days earlier.
Sowry said the pair were taken to hospital by paramedics on March 23.
"He tested positive for Covid-19 over three weeks ago while in Wellington Hospital."
The man died on Monday in Wellington Hospital. His death was one of the four that were announced today, linked to the virus, Sowry said.
Among the Kāpiti Coast death were three people from the Rosewood rest home cluster in Christchurch, including two men in their 90s and a man in his 80s.
"This is the largest number of deaths we have recorded in any day in New Zealand from Covid-19 and it is a sobering reminder of what is at stake," Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said.
The Covid-19 death toll is now nine, including six from the Rosewood cluster, but despite the sad news, Bloomfield said New Zealand appeared to be past its Covid-19 peak.
Sowry said the pair lived in a small apartment building with eight residents. No one else had fallen ill but were being closely monitored.
"Our thoughts are with his family and our priority now is to offer them and our residents our fullest support."
He did not believe that any Metlifecare staff had come into contact with the couple during their self-isolation.
"As always, our primary concern is for the health and wellbeing of every resident in our villages and the staff who serve them. This tragic event has reinforced our commitment to total vigilance in following Government guidelines," Sowry said.
• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website
"As soon as we became aware of the situation, we undertook a deep clean and sanitisation of all communal spaces throughout the village and relevant buildings, and we stopped access in and out of the building that the affected residents lived in."
All Metlifecare villages were abiding by the alert level 4 restrictions, denying entry to visitors and asking all residents to remain in their own homes through the provision of essential services to minimise the risk to residents.
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