41-Year-Old Man Dies Just 4 Days After Testing Positive For COVID-19 As Global Cases Surge

KEY POINTS

The 41-year-old man died on March 10 in New Zealand
Daryl Saunders is survived by his wife and four children
It remains unclear how he contracted the virus or if he had any health conditions

A 41-year-old man in New Zealand died just four days after testing positive for COVID-19, media reports said Wednesday.

The man, identified as Daryl Saunders, is survived by his wife and four children – three daughters and a son, the youngest aged 7. Saunders' cause of death has been ruled inconclusive pending further investigation by the coroner, the New Zealand Herald reported.

He died on March 10. It remains unclear how he contracted the virus or if he had any underlying health conditions.

Saunders' death has left his family "shocked" and "utterly distraught."

He had married his high school girlfriend, and the family was living in East Auckland after moving to the country from England in 2016. A Givealittle page has been set up by his wife's employer, Young Life NZ, a charity that employs youth workers at schools across East Auckland, to help the family.

"It is rare in life that one can make something better, when tragedy strikes. We can’t bring Daryl back. But if we all work together, we can help this family stay on track," the page read. "Daryl was a hard worker. He was the high school sweetheart of Sarah and they were together 24 years. They raised four lovely children together. He was the best dad ever. What more can I say?"

"We want Sarah to be able to return to her work and study. We don’t want her to stop working towards the future plans that she had made. That is what Daryl would have wanted," the page added.

As of Wednesday night, it raised more than $13,000 with a goal of $30,000.

New Zealand reported 19,566 new community cases of COVID-19 Thursday and 930 hospitalizations, including 23 in intensive care. Ten COVID-related deaths were confirmed, of which one person was in their 30s, one in their 50s, three in their 70s, two in their 80s and two in their 90s. Four were women and five were men. Information regarding the 10th death was not available.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday the figures showing a global rise in COVID-19 cases could herald a much bigger problem, as some countries have reported a drop in testing rates.

"These increase are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases we're seeing are just the tip of the iceberg," WHO's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, according to Reuters.