Covid 19 coronavirus: the tragic deaths of the brothers, the brothers will soon be reunited in the same Waikato cemetery

Lying in a hospital bed in an induced coma and on life support, Covid-19 victim Nigel Te Hiko was unaware that his older brother had died.

But at the end of the week, Alan and Nigel Te Hiko will meet once again, the brothers will be buried in the Tokoroa cemetery.

It has been a miserable fortnight for Te Hiko whānau, cruelly torn apart by the resurgence of the coronavirus in the upper North Island.

A regular weekend visit to catch up with the family in Tokoroa in early August proved deadly, as two brothers in different regions tragically lost their fight against the deadly infection.

Last Thursday, the mourners said goodbye to Alan, a father of four living in Auckland, and he was the first to die during this current outbreak. The 58-year-old devoted Warriors fan passed away at Middlemore Hospital on Sept. 4 after contracting the virus at his Americold Coolstore workplace in early August.

His tangi took place last week in Ruapeka Marae, and he was buried in the Tokoroa cemetery on September 10.

Now, a week later, the extended family is gathering in Ongaroto Marae near Atiamarui for the tangi of their 54-year-old younger brother after he succumbed to the disease following a month-long battle with Covid-19 at Hospital de Waikato.

Today, Whanau spokesperson Chris Mckenzie revealed that Nigel’s final weeks had been spent with a ventilator, as the respected Raukawa historian and Te Reo advocate was placed into an induced coma to counter the ravages of the virus.

With the word that he was not going to make it, the whānau were invited to spend time with him.

“He passed away surrounded by his family,” Mckenzie said.

He said the couple will be lying in plots not far from each other after the last burial takes place on Saturday.

“He will be there near Alan. They come from a very large family in Tokoroa.”

For the whānau, losing two limbs in rapid succession had left everyone reeling.

“It’s surreal,” Mckenzie said.

“We have had deaths before, but these seem particularly devastating in the way that it happened in such an unfortunate way.”

Mckenzie said everyone was still in shock at how quickly Nigel’s health deteriorated.

“When Nigel got sick, I was surprised that he went down so fast,” McKenzie said.

“Like the rest of the country we were worried and taking all precautions but Covid was happening to others.

“We thought we were safe as long as we turned away from social media and clicked on QR codes,” he said.

Mckenzie said that when the brothers got together before falling so terribly ill, Alan appeared to be in good health and did not know that he was spreading the virus.

When Nigel started showing symptoms, he went straight to the doctor to get tested, Mckenzie said.

“He contacted us even before taking the test to tell us that he was not well and that he had isolated himself.”

After getting a positive result of around 100 whānau, close friends and contacts were asked to isolate themselves.

Meanwhile, Nigel had left Tokoroa to receive more attention.

He was admitted to Waikato Hospital on August 19 and transferred to the intensive care unit a week later as his health deteriorated.

“He had been in an induced coma for a couple of weeks,” McKenzie said.

The Health Ministry first alerted the country on August 14 that two people in Tokoroa had been infected with Covid. At the time, health officials said the cases were related to Auckland’s new August group.

Then, tragically, on September 4, Te Hiko’s first brother, Alan, died at Middlemore Hospital with his family visiting before his death.

Eleven days later, Nigel lost his battle, becoming the 25th victim and the youngest person to die from Covid in New Zealand.

This week, the brothers’ whānau appealed to the nation that “the coronavirus is so real”, and to be very vigilant and cautious. They also wanted New Zealanders not to put other people in danger by telling people “if you are sick and have symptoms, stay home.”