A 62-year-old Invercargill woman has died from Covid-19 in Dunedin Hospital.
Director general of health Ashley Bloomfield. Photo: NZME
Her family, who had not had any direct contact with her since she went into intensive care more than two weeks ago, were able to be with her as she died overnight.
Director general of health Ashley Bloomfield said arrangements were made with the hospital last night for them to visit.
And Dr Bloomfield has apologised after the woman's condition was mistakenly described as stable in the daily media briefing.
Her daughter had told RNZ she was briefly elated to hear that, before being heartbroken to learn it was wrong.
Dr Bloomfield said he had been told the woman was stable, but that was in the context of her condition remaining the same in intensive care.
"But I'm very sorry because ... I think that did create some anxiety for her family," he said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said they were considering changing some of the terminology used for people in intensive care in the briefings.
"In this case perhaps the health terminology will mean different things to different people and no one wants to create any kind of extra additional distress for families as obviously has been caused in this case," she said.
Earlier the woman's daughter, Nicole, said five members of the woman's family had Covid-19 including a toddler and a baby after her mother.
They did not know where she contracted the virus, they said.
Her mother had become sick at the end of March before first going to Southland Hospital.
"When she was taken to the hospital, no one could hug her good-bye," she said.
She was was airlifted to Dunedin on 4 April after her condition deteriorated.
"When mum was in Southland Hospital, the nurses ensured her phone was charged so that we could communicate with her and I will be eternally grateful for that," she said.
"But obviously since she was sedated and intubated [two weeks ago], we haven't been able to communicate with her and our only contact is through the medical staff caring for her."
All five other members of the family have recovered, she said.
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Southern DHB chief executive Chris Fleming said the woman's death was another tragic reminder of the very real cost of Covid-19.
"It underscores the importance of all the steps we have taken to prevent the further spread of the virus," he said.
He thanked the teams at both Southland and Dunedin hospitals who cared for the woman for their committment in challenging times.
