Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson confirms brother has died of Covid-19 following admission to ICU

Liverpool Joe Anderson thanked people for their messages of support. Credit: PA

The brother of Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson has died after being admitted to intensive care with Covid-19.

Mr Anderson confirmed the news on Twitter and thanked people for their messages of support, adding: "Let's stick together and support each other and win this battle."

Hours before, he revealed his eldest brother was in a "very serious condition" in hospital and urged people to follow the rules to prevent the spread of the virus.

His tweet shared a video by Liverpool City Council which featured Dr Richard Wenstone making a plea for people to follow coronavirus rules to ease pressure on the NHS.

The Liverpool City Region (LCR) was placed on Tier 3, the strictest set of coronavirus measures this week, and cases of the virus have increased to more than 600 per 100,000 people.

Earlier on Friday, Mr 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 the strictest measures.