Britain’s youngest coronavirus victim was laid to rest today by pallbearers wearing protective suits, masks and gloves with his mother and six siblings only able to watch the funeral online because they must stay in self-isolation at home.
13-year-old Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, from Brixton, south London, died alone at King’s College Hospital in the early hours of Monday.
Today in poignant scenes at Eternal Gardens Muslim Burial Ground in Chislehurst, mourners including uncles and cousins, also wearing PPE clothing, spaced out two metres to observe social distancing rules during prayers and watched in silence as his coffin was lowered into the ground.
His mother Sadiya and six siblings were forced to watch his funeral on a live-stream after two in the family suffered coronavirus-like symptoms. Ismail’s father lost his battle with cancer around five years ago, MailOnline understands.
Under Islamic custom, the body is traditionally taken to the mosque first for special prayers but because all places of worship are currently closed, Ismail was straight to the cemetery from a mortuary in south London before his burial.
Ismail, who had no apparent underlying health conditions, has been described by his bereft family as a ‘gentle and kind’ boy with a ‘heartwarming’ smile.
He tested positive for coronavirus last Friday and died three days later after his lungs and heart failed, becoming the first child in the UK to be killed by the virus that has now claimed 3,605 lives.