The Chief Ombudsman will be starting targeted inspections of aged care facilities this week.
It comes after New Zealand's latest COVID-19 deaths were revealed to be related to a cluster of elderly people from Rosewood Rest Home in Christchurch.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier says he will be assessing the care of vulnerable people kept in locked facilities such as those with dementia.
He says the public needs reassurance that facilities are mitigating risk at all times.
"I have to act now because several aged care facilities now have clusters of the disease and sadly a number of people have died," Boshier said in a statement.
"Up until the COVID-19 pandemic, my team has been doing orientation visits to aged care facilities with the intention of starting inspections from mid next year. I have reset my plans due to the present crisis and have now been confirmed as an essential service to undertake these inspections."
The Rosewood Rest Home cluster has killed six of its residents while 14 were in hospital.
"As the New Zealand Parliament’s watchdog for people detained in secure aged care facilities, I must act now," Boshier said.
