Covid: Thirteen arrests at Liverpool anti-lockdown demo

Saturday's rally followed previous protests since the start of the second lockdown

Thirteen people have been arrested after an anti-lockdown protest in Liverpool on Saturday.

Police originally held 15 people but said some had been "de-arrested and issued with fixed penalty notices".

Hundreds of people have gathered for weekend rallies since the second national lockdown began on 5 November.

At Saturday's protest, a 36-year-old man, from Kirkby, was held on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker after an officer was pushed in the chest.

Dispersal zone

The remaining 12 people were arrested for breaching coronavirus rules and public order.

Police also implemented a dispersal zone in the city centre on Saturday, with officers having the power to ask people suspected of anti-social behaviour to leave the area and not return for up to 48 hours.

They issued 25 fixed penalty notices and 10 dispersal notices.

Liverpool cases

England's first city-wide mass testing programme started in Liverpool earlier this month

• About 33 people are reported to have died with the virus in the past week

• There were 1,155 reported cases in the week to 16 November, compared with 1,429 cases in the previous week

• Among the city's population of about 500,000, the rate has dropped to 232 per 100,000 from 287

• Overall, there were 145,031 cases in England in the week to 16 November, or 258 per 100,000

More than 140,000 people in Liverpool have taken part in the country's first city-wide mass testing pilot, which started on 6 November.

The city had one of the highest rates of coronavirus infections and deaths in October, when it became the first area in England to face the highest tier restrictions.