Brother of Sunderland mum diagnosed with coronavirus has died after testing positive for covid-19

The family of a Sunderland man who was fighting for his life in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus have confirmed he has sadly died.
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Joe Jenkins was rushed into Sunderland Royal Hospital on Saturday, March 28, and tested positive with coronavirus.

The 65-year-old is the brother of Marion Jolliff who was the first person to have tested positive for covid-19 in Sunderland earlier last month.

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Tragically, his daughter Eva Jenkins has confirmed that he has sadly died earlier today (April 1).

Marion Jolliff's brother JoeMarion Jolliff's brother Joe
Marion Jolliff's brother Joe

The beloved father developed a cough while he was in Spain for his 40th wedding anniversary and his temperature began to rise last week.

Eva says he was surrounded by close family when the father, who lived on the Ford Estate, sadly passed away.

His sister, Marion Jolliff, has beaten the virus but still has a long way to go in her recovery.

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Posting on Facebook, Marion’s son Alen Jolliff paid tribute to his uncle.

He said: “Cannot believe my uncle Joe lost his battle to this horrendous virus.

“Can people please stay at home to stop it spreading.

“I don’t want more families to go through the heartache we’ve been through over last few weeks.”

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“Both my Dad and Auntie self-isolated for two weeks when they began developing symptoms and they still both ended up in hospital.”

New figures released today, Wednesday, April 1, from NHS England show six more people have died in hospitals operated by the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS foundation Trust – two on March 30 and four on March 31.

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