Brother of Liverpool mayor dies from coronavirus

The mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, has announced the death of his brother in hospital after contracting Covid-19.

On Friday, Anderson urged people to follow the rules to prevent the spread of the virus as he revealed his eldest brother was in a “very serious condition” in intensive care.

In a tweet on Saturday, he said: “Despite the efforts of all the staff [at the Royal Liverpool university hospital intensive care unit], my brother sadly died at 10.45 last night. We want to thank the dedicated staff risking their lives for us.

“Thank you all for your messages of love and support. Let’s stick together and support each other and win this battle.”

Earlier this week, the Liverpool city region became the first area in England to be subject to the most severe restrictions under the new three-tier lockdown system.

On Friday, Anderson joined Liverpool city region leaders in branding the tier system of coronavirus regulations a “shambles”, following the announcement that gyms in Lancashire can stay open under tier 3, even though gyms and leisure centres in Liverpool, Wirral, St Helens, Sefton, Knowsley and Halton had to close from Wednesday under the same “very high” alert level..

A gym owner, Nicholas Whitcombe, was fined £1,000 when he refused to close Body Tech Fitness in Moreton, Wirral, on Wednesday.

Liverpool city region leaders said they were given no choice on the package of measures, but a government spokesman said the interventions were a result of consultation with local authorities.

Anderson tweeted earlier: “Liverpool city region has demanded immediate clarification on why Lancashire gyms are allowed to stay open and Liverpool’s close. Inconsistent mess, we now have tier 3A and tier 3B.” He ended his tweet with “#shambles”.