Covid 19 coronavirus: Nigel Te Hiko dies from virus at Waikato Hospital

A Kiwi family has lost a second loved one to Covid-19.

Nigel Te Hiko died in Waikato Hospital, almost two weeks after his brother Alan died in Auckland from the virus.

Nigel, 54, is believed to have hired Covid from Alan, who had worked at the Americold facility in Auckland.

He is the 25th New Zealander to die from Covid-19.

Nigel was a respected historian and negotiator at the Raukawa Settlement Trust, representing the interests of southern Waikato iwi.

He is now the youngest person in New Zealand to die from Covid-19.

Nigel lived in Tokoroa and had received a visit from his brother before Auckland closed in August.

On August 14, it was revealed that two people in Tokoroa had been infected with Covid. Health officials said these cases were related to the new Auckland group.

The Te Hiko whānau of Tokoroa are now planning a funeral less than a week after they buried their older brother Alan last Thursday.

Alan died at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital earlier this month.

He was a team leader in the Mt Wellington refrigeration shop and had worked alongside the index case for what was initially called the South Auckland group.

Michael Tonga worked with Alan Te Hiko and described his boss as a “born leader” who was always the hardest worker in the room, but also enjoyed rugby league jokes, particularly about his favorite team, the Warriors. .

“Words cannot express the honor and love we feel in being invited to speak at the service and also to bring our leader [and] brother to his resting place, “he wrote on Facebook.

There are now three deaths related to the Auckland August group, after Auckland’s Pacific Health Leader and General Practitioner Dr Joe Williams died on the same day as Nigel Te Hiko. He had also been in the ICU for several weeks.