One of the city's most senior medics today said "the situation we are now in is the worst I have seen in all my years as a doctor."
Dr Tristan Cope, medical director and intensive care consultant at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has spoken out ahead of the region's first weekend under the new tightened Tier 3 regulations.
Health bosses are extremely concerned that some people may ignore the recently-introduced rules, especially with pubs and bars now closed, and hold impromptu house gatherings and assemble in large numbers.
Mr Cope, in a letter to ECHO readers, said: "We all know that the continued spread of Covid in the Liverpool city region is putting an incredible strain on our hospitals.
"Our magnificent staff are going above and beyond on a daily basis to give the best possible care to all our patients in these most challenging circumstances.
"The situation we are now in is the worst I have seen in all my years as a doctor.
"This week saw Tier 3 measures applied to the region and we all know the temptation which lies ahead for tonight, and over the weekend, to have parties or invite a few friends round to your house or garden.
"But, on behalf of all our doctors, nurses and health professionals who are working so hard, and having to treat so many seriously ill patients, I want to ask you to think about the consequences of ignoring the rules.
"We must stop the spread of this virus in the city region.
"That is the only thing which will reduce the increasing number of patients being admitted to our wards and critical care units.
"To stop the virus, we must all follow the rules.
"Wash your hands regularly.
"Wear your mask when you should.
"Keep your distance from others.
"Please, on behalf of everyone in the NHS, do not break the rules with parties which will simply help this deadly virus spread faster and further, causing death and serious ill health to even more people.
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"Follow the rules, and you will save lives."
Yesterday, there were 350 patients in the trust's hospitals, which covers The Royal Liverpool, Aintree and Broadgreen.
That figure is expected to rise.
The capacity in critical care and the intensive care unit is fluctuating daily and has reached 90% at one point over the past week, with a maximum of 61 beds within The Royal Liverpool and Aintree.
More pressure has grown this morning about the need for a nationwide circuit breaker, over a period of two or three weeks, to ease the explosion of transmissions.
It is a move supported by Liverpool's Mayor Joe Anderson and the Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram.
Professor John Edmunds said a circuit-breaker could help reduce the reproduction number and lead to a "much more safe winter."
The epidemiologist and member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said a longer-term package of restrictions was needed over the winter across the country to bring the reproduction rate down.
He said: "A reproduction number at 1 means you're holding the prevalence at the high rate, you're holding the rate of disease at a high level.
"So that's where a circuit-breaker comes in to reduce the rate of disease, to bring it down and then hold it at a lower level.
"That's going to give us a much more safe winter... the health service can be able to continue offering a full range of services to all of the people who need those."
