A man in his 40s has died at the Pickled Parrot Lodge in the Wellington suburb of Newtown on Sunday.

Covid-19 is not suspected to have caused the death of a man at a Wellington lodge, Ministry of Health director-general Dr Ashley Bloomfield says.

Police responded to the sudden death of a man in his 40s at a Newtown address about 8.35pm on Sunday.

The cause of death is unknown, but it is not being treated as suspicious. The death has been referred to the coroner.

It is understood emergency services wore full personal protective equipment because the man had a high fever with recent coughing and breathing problems.

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While there was suspicion the man's death may have been related to coronavirus, Bloomfield ruled this out on Monday.

A Regional Public Health medical officer of health was informed of the man's death on Sunday night.

"As is standard practice following such a death, this matter has been referred to the coroner and we are not able to comment further," the spokesman said.

Wellington Free Ambulance were called to the scene following a 111 phone call.

The patient was classified as status two, meaning there was a potential threat to life. Paramedics were wearing personal protective equipment, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Matthew Wright, owner of the Pickled Parrot Lodge where the man died, said the man was about 160kg with pre-existing health conditions that had recently put him in hospital, before he discharged himself.

He believed the death was most likely from a heart attack.

The Pickled Parrot is exclusively for long-term accommodation and Wright was not aware of any residents who had been overseas recently.

The man had been living at the lodge for four or five years, Wright said.

West Coast woman Anne Guenole, 74, died of the virus a week ago – the first death in New Zealand.

Guenole had initially been diagnosed with influenza that was complicated by an underlying health condition, but later tested positive for positive Covid-19.