A GP is feared to have become the first doctor in the UK to have died after contracting coronavirus.
Dr Habib Zaidi, 76, died at Southend Hospital in Essex 24 hours after being taken ill on Tuesday, the BBC has reported.
Tests have not yet confirmed that he had Covid-19 at the time of his death but his daughter Dr Sarah Zaidi, who is also a GP, said he showed "textbook symptoms" of the virus.
She told the BBC: "For that to be the thing that took him is too much to bear. It is reflective of his sacrifice."
Dr Zaidi, who worked as a GP in Leigh-on-Sea for more than 45 years, had reportedly been self-isolating and not seen patients in person for about a week.
His daughter added: "We can't mourn in the normal way. We can't have a normal funeral.
"He left a gaping hole in our hearts but a loss that is also felt within the community that he devoted almost his entire life to.
"We are praying for the safety of everyone right now."
The number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales has reached 28 after six more deaths were announced on Thursday.
Public Health Wales has confirmed the number of cases of Covid-19 had increased to 741 on Thursday – a rise of 113 in the previous 24 hours.
The UK has now surpassed 10,00 confirmed cases with 11,658 people tested positive. Of this number 578 patients have died.
