Anthony Yarde: Second family member dies from coronavirus

Anthony Yarde's next fight against fellow Briton Lyndon Arthur has been moved from 11 April to 11 July

British boxer Anthony Yarde has announced his grandmother has died from coronavirus.

She is the second member of his family to die as a result of the pandemic, following his father’s death last Friday.

The 28-year-old appealed to people to “just stay home” as he said his grandmother had died on Thursday.

“My dad and his mother have passed just days apart,” the light-heavyweight fighter wrote on social media.

“It’s serious! People are still going out when they don’t need to. I know there’s a lot of opinions about Covid-19 and I have mine but I just know opinions ain’t worth risking your life and others. Just stay home.”

The latest Government figures on Friday showed a further 684 people in the UK have died from coronavirus, bringing the total to 3,605. There are 38,168 confirmed cases.

Yarde said his father had been “fit with no health issues”.

His promoter Frank Warren wrote on Twitter: “We are extremely sad to learn that Anthony Yarde has now lost his nan to the coronavirus.

“We can’t begin to imagine what Anthony and his family are going through and our sincere condolences go out to them.

“Please listen to his heartfelt personal plea, stay at home to save lives.”

Yarde’s next fight was set to be against fellow Briton Lyndon Arthur on 11 April, but the event has been delayed until 11 July because of the pandemic.