‘Britain’s youngest coronavirus victim’: Boy, 13, dies alone ‘after testing positive in London hospital’, fundraiser says
A 13-year-old boy from Brixton, London is thought to have become Britain’s youngest coronavirus victim.
Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab is believed to have died alone at Kings College Hospital in London yesterday, with family members unable to visit him in fear of catching the deadly virus, according to a fundraiser.
He is not thought to have had any underlying health conditions.
News of the boy’s death was shared on a GoFundMe post created by Madinah College, a mosque in Brixton, to raise money for Ismail’s funeral.
The boy’s family, who also recently lost his father to cancer, said in a statement: ‘Ismail started showing symptoms and had difficulties breathing and was admitted to Kings College Hospital.
Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, 13, is believed to have died alone at Kings College Hospital in London yesterday
‘He was put on a ventilator and then put into an induced coma but sadly died yesterday morning.
‘To our knowledge he had no underlying health conditions. We are beyond devastated.’
Mark Stephenson – College Director at the Madinah College where Ismail’s sister works – said: ‘Ismail was tested positive for coronavirus. They have not released the body yet, as the coroner wants to do an autopsy – I’m assuming due to his young age and not having underlying conditions.’
The fundraising page reads: ‘It is with great sadness to announce that the brother of one of our teachers at Madinah College has sadly passed away this morning (Monday 30th March 2020) due to being infected with Covid 19.
‘He was only 13 years old without any pre-existing health conditions and sadly he died without any family members close by due to the highly infectious nature of Covid 19.
‘We at Madinah College would like to appeal to our brothers and sisters to donate generously to help raise £4000 for the funeral costs.’