Groom’s father dies of coronavirus
The father of the groom connected to the Bluff wedding cluster who died of coronavirus has been described as a ‘‘beautiful soul’’.
Chrisanthos (Christo) Tzanoudakis, 87, died in Wellington Hospital on April 10, becoming New Zealand’s third death connected with Covid-19 and one of two fatalities in the capital.
As of yesterday, nine people had died of the virus.
Tzanoudakis was the father of the groom at the Bluff wedding on March 21.
Stan Nikitopoulos, president of the Cretans Association of New Zealand, told Stuff that Tzanoudakis was ‘‘one of a kind’’. ‘‘He was very kind-hearted towards everyone, for whatever reason,’’ he said. Tzanoudakis was well known in the Greek community and always had kind words to say about others.
He had lived in Wellington for 50 years after emigrating
from Crete and had worked for many years on the docks, before buying a fish and chip shop.
Once a year, he would return to Crete to visit his family and friends.
‘‘He was just a beautiful soul,’’ said Nikitopoulos.
Tzanoudakis was a co-founder of the Cretans Association of New Zealand, and his name was well known in Crete.
His funeral was held yesterday. The Ministry of Health’s director of public health, Dr Caroline McElnay, confirmed on Sunday that a man in his 80s had died in Wellington Regional Hospital on Friday.
Tzanoudakis, a widower and father of two, first became unwell on March 26 and was admitted to hospital two days later.
McElnay declined to identify the known cluster the man was linked to, but director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield confirmed a connection with the Bluff wedding cluster.
Both the bride and groom – and many of their 70 guests – became unwell in the weeks following.
The bride, who Stuff has agreed not to name, declined an interview request yesterday but earlier denied anyone had come from overseas for the wedding.
‘‘We feel lots of responsibility but everyone has been really reassuring,’’ she said on Wednesday.
AIR NEW ZEALAND LINK
The wedding was held four days before the national lockdown was imposed, at a time when groups of under 100 were allowed to mix.
The wedding party included an Air New Zealand flight attendant – understood to be a relative of the groom, who was the first to become ill. The man, who Stuff has approached for comment, flew into the country just days before the wedding. At the time, cabin crew were not required to self-isolate unless they were unwell.
The wedding ceremony was held in Invercargill before the guests were taken by bus to Oyster Cove restaurant in Bluff for the reception.
The bride is originally from Waitomo in Waikato, and the town has reported several coronavirus cases.