Coronavirus victim, 13, buried without family present after they develop symptoms

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The funeral of 13-year-old Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, who died after contracting coronavirus, has been held with none of his immediate family in attendance due to self-isolation.

Ismail is believed to be the first child in the UK to die from Covid-19.

A ceremony was held at the Eternal Gardens dedicated Muslim burial ground in Kemnal Park, Chislehurst, on Friday afternoon and was attended by mourners who all stood apart from each other, observing social distancing guidelines.​

Two of Ismail’s six siblings are displaying symptoms of Covid-19, forcing the whole family to isolate, including their mother.

The teenager, from Brixton, south London, died alone in hospital on Monday.

His coffin was lowered into the ground by four people wearing protective clothing and face masks.

Mark Stephenson, a friend of Ismail’s family and academic director at Madinah College, where Ismail’s sister works, said the teenager’s younger brother and older sister have developed mild symptoms, including a fever and loss of sense of taste.

He said earlier this week: “Shaykh Sharif Zain will be leading the funeral and I will be delivering a short speech for the Abdulwahab family and a few close family and friends.

“We hope that we can send a live-stream of the funeral to his mother and siblings so they can be there remotely, but they are obviously devastated that they can’t be there in person again.

“It’s extremely upsetting for everyone involved, but they have been very moved by the warmth and very positive messages of support from people following their appeal.”

Ismail tested positive for the coronavirus last Friday, a day after he was admitted to King’s College Hospital. He had no apparent underlying health conditions but died after his lungs failed and he went into cardiac arrest.

The NHS confirmed that a 13-year-old with no known underlying health condition was among those who died after testing positive for Covid-19.

The family said in a statement: “We are heartbroken as a family due to the devastation caused by the coronavirus as it becomes too real for us as a family and community.

“Ismail was a loving son, brother, nephew to our family and a friend to many people who knew him. His smile was heartwarming and he was always gentle and kind.”

They said his death was “very painful” but they were “comforted by our belief that every life shall taste death and the fact that we have no say when or how this will come about”.

“We are extremely grateful and overwhelmed by the amount of support from all over the world and to everyone who has donated even though they did not know Ismail – the impact of his death has touched the heart of many and we are truly humbled by this,” they added.

Mr Stephenson set up an appeal on GoFundMe to raise money for funeral costs and the family, who also lost Ismail’s father to cancer.

Over £70,000 has been raised so far, smashing the £4,000 target.

Additional reporting by agencies