Covid-19: Ipswich man warns virus 'is no hoax' after brother dies

Jamie Slade, left, pictured with his brother Gary and son Elijah, died with Covid-19 aged 35

A man whose 35-year-old brother died with Covid-19 has warned the virus is "no hoax".

Father-of-two Jamie Slade, from Ipswich, died on Sunday after testing positive over Christmas.

His brother Gary described the keen Ipswich Town fan as a "get up and go type" who "could walk into a pub on his own and come out with new friends".

He warned on social media that Covid causes "endless heartbreak" and urged people "to take this serious".

Gary, 33, told BBC Radio Suffolk his brother died from a Covid-related cardiac arrest two days before he was due to come out of isolation.

He said he felt "absolutely numb" after losing "more than a brother - a best friend, a confidant, a drinking buddy".

In a Facebook post, he said: "Covid is no hoax, take this serious, it's real, and causes endless heartbreak."

• England's new national lockdown becomes law

• New coronavirus variant: What do we know?

• Covid-19: Latest figures for Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk

Gary said people had told him Jamie, who leaves two sons, Owen and Elijah, was "like a brother to them" and was a "recognisable member of the Blue Army".

Jamie's best friend Craig Wright described him as a "very popular, bubbly guy who was loved by so many".

Ipswich Town Football Club passed on their condolences on Twitter, adding: "Once a blue, always a blue."

In Suffolk, the number of coronavirus cases doubled between 25 December and 1 January.

The infection rate for Suffolk is 447 per 100,000, up 100% on the previous week.

The rate for England is 572 per 100,000, up 51% on the previous week.

Sixty people died in Suffolk with Covid-19 in the last week.