The grieving family of a 13-year-old boy who died after testing positive for coronavirus are unable to attend his funeral today after his siblings developed symptoms.
Two siblings of Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab have developed symptoms of Covid-19, including a temperature and loss of taste, according to a family friend who launched an online appeal following the child's death.
The teenager, from Brixton in south west London, had no underlying health problems and died at King's College Hospital on Monday.
The development means his mother and six siblings are forced to self-isolate and cannot attend his funeral in Brixton today.
In a statement through GoFundMe, Mark Stephenson said: "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."
Family members were not allowed to be at Ismail's bedside when he passed away as he became the UK's youngest coronavirus victim.
They expressed their grief at the young boy's passing, describing him as "gentle and kind".
A statement said: "We would like to pay tribute to our young boy Ismail Mohamed, who has passed away at the tender age of 13.
"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 heart-warming and he was always gentle and kind.
"Sadly, he passed away on Monday 30th of March at King's College Hospital due to COVID-19 without his family present and this is very painful for us as family, particularly as a mother.
"However, we are 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.
"As Muslims, we believe that this life is short and temporary and we have to remain patient when facing hardship."
The UK's coronavirus death toll rose by its highest daily total yesterday.
A total of 569 more patients died in the 24-hour period, the Department of Health announced, with Scotland and Wales adding additional fatalities to the tally later in the afternoon.
The number of people in Britain who have passed away after contracting the deadly bug is 2,977.
