A 13-year-old boy with coronavirus died without family by his side as he became Britain's youngest victim of the pandemic.
Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab had no known underlying health conditions and is one of the youngest people in the world to die after contracting Covid-19.
The teen - whose dad died of cancer, leaving his mum to care for seven children - didn't have any family with him at the time due to the highly infectious nature of the virus.
Ismail, from Brixton, south London, died at King's College Hospital in the early hours of Monday morning after medics put him on a ventilator and then into an induced coma as they desperately tried to save his life.
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The Mohamed family said: "Ismail started showing symptoms and had difficulties breathing and was admitted to Kings College Hospital.
"He was put on a ventilator and then put into an induced coma but sadly died yesterday [Monday] morning.
"To our knowledge he had no underlying health conditions.
"We are beyond devastated."
A GoFundMe page set up to cover funeral expenses reached the £50,000 mark on Wednesday morning.
The initial fundraising target was £4,000.
Madinah College, which offers Arabic language and Islamic studies courses, set up the page and said the extra money will "go directly to the family".
It said on Wednesday: "The family is overwhelmed and grateful to all the donors and prayers, may Allah bless you and reward you all."
Ismail was admitted to King's College Hospital last Thursday and tested positive for coronavirus the following day.
His mother and six siblings are awaiting the results of a post-mortem which will confirm the cause of death and determine whether he had any pre-existing conditions.
Fundraiser and family friend Mark Stephenson, an academic director at Madinah College, where Ismail's sister works, said: "Ismail was tested positive for Covid-19.
"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."
A message on the GoFundMe page states: "It is with great sadness to announce that the younger 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.
"Ismael [sic] 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 and to support the family.
"May Allah grant the family patience through this difficult time and make it a means of drawing closer to Him."
Ismail's death came the same day as that of a 12-year-old girl in Belgium. She is the youngest person to die in Europe after contracting coronavirus.
In recent days, a 12-year-old boy has died in Portugal and a 16-year-old girl has died at a hospital in Paris.
Luca Di Nicola, 19, an assistant chef from Nereto, Italy, died at North Middlesex Hospital in Enfield, north London, last Tuesday from apparent fulminant pneumonia.
His family said he was "very healthy" and the NHS confirmed he had no underlying health conditions.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, Housing and Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said the deaths of a 13-year-old and a 19-year-old with coronavirus is a reminder that the disease affects everyone.
He told BBC Breakfast: "Every death is a tragedy, but two young people dying is even more sobering.
"It does remind us all that this is a virus that's indiscriminate.
"It doesn't just affect the elderly, or those who are extremely vulnerable because of their pre-existing conditions, although those people do need to take particular care.
"It can affect all of us and I think many young people have felt, or some young people have felt, almost invincible, and you saw that in some of the scenes a couple of weeks ago of young people out enjoying themselves when we first started to implement some of the social distancing measures.
"I think now everybody in the country understands and appreciates the seriousness of the situation, and is following the medical advice, which is to stay at home, by doing so protect the NHS and help to save lives."
A King's College Hospital spokesperson said of Ismail's death: "Sadly, a 13-year old boy who tested positive for Covid-19 has passed away, and our thoughts and condolences are with the family at this time.
"The death has been referred to the Coroner and no further comment will be made.”
Dr Nathalie MacDermott, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer, King's College London, said: "It is very sad to hear of the death of a 13-year-old infected with Covid-19.
"While we know it is much less likely for children to suffer severe Covid-19 infection than older adults, this case highlights the importance of us all taking the precautions we can to reduce the spread of infection in the UK and worldwide.
“While it is reported this boy did not have any underlying conditions and was thought to be otherwise healthy, it is important that a coroner assesses whether a post-mortem is necessary to further understand the exact cause of death.
"While chronic underlying medical conditions are known to result in worse outcomes in COVID-19 infection, we have heard of cases of younger individuals with no known medical problems succumbing to the disease."
Dr Simon Clarke from the University of Reading said: “While the old are much more likely to die from coronavirus infection, the young are certainly not immune from it.
“This is a reminder that we must take the advice of health officials seriously to stay at home, wash hands, and keep well away from all other people.
"The message so far has seemed to be that by following the guidance, you might save the life of a cherished parent or grandparent.
"This case could yet remind us that staying home could also save the life of a cherished child or grandchild too.”
