Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, from Brixton in London, died aged 13 at King's College Hospital in London on Monday morning
London - Madinah College sets up fundraising page for funeral costs of Londoner Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab.
Published: Wed 1 Apr 2020, 2:23 AM
Last updated: Wed 1 Apr 2020, 4:07 PM
A teenage schoolboy with no underlying health conditions is believed to have become Britain's youngest coronavirus victim.
Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, from Brixton in London, died aged 13 at King's College Hospital in London on Monday morning.
A fundraising page has been established by Madinah College in South London to raise funeral expenses for Ismail.
"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 [March 30] due to being infected with Covid 19," the page read.
"Ismael 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 £4,000 (D18,200) for the funeral costs and to support the family, who sadly also lost their father to cancer.
"May Allah grant the family patience through this difficult time and make it a means of drawing closer to Him."
On Tuesday, £24,000 (Dh109,000) had been raised by the appeal.
One donor wrote: "I have a 13-year-old and I can't imagine what you are going through. So so so sorry for your loss. Xxx."
"We are beyond devastated," a statement released through a family friend added.
"To our knowledge he had no underlying health conditions."
In a statement, King's College Hospital told Sky News: "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."
Earlier on Tuesday, Luca Di Nicola, 19, an assistant chef from central Italy, died in London after testing positive for the coronavirus. He had no underlying health conditions.
Di Nicola was taken to the North Middlesex Hospital in north London, last Tuesday but died 30 minutes later from apparent fulminant pneumonia.
Luca's father, Mirko, told La Repubblica that his son had contracted the virus, and that the family received an email from British medical authorities saying a postmortem swab had confirmed that.
It is believed the coroner has not officially confirmed it.
His brother, Davide Di Nicola, paid tribute to him on Instagram.
"We both grew and matured and you, surely more mature than me, had the courage and the desire to bring new goals," Davide said.
"I would have liked to spend so many other days and evenings with you and I swear that I will take you with me every day, on every occasion, every time I take the field.
"I will try to express some of your wishes and fulfil part of your dreams.
It will be like doing it together also because you are here with me and you will always be. I send you a hug up there, to that starred restaurant.
"I love you, my brother."
Luca had been ill for a week before his death, La Repubblica newspaper reported.
His GP had given him paracetamol and said he did not have to worry about the virus because he was young and healthy, the it reported.
The UK government's latest daily announcement on Tuesday said 392 more people have died after catching coronavirus - taking the British total to 1,808.
A 12-year-old girl in Belgium is the youngest-known person to die in Europe after catching coronavirus.
Doctors have warned that while older people with health problems are at particular risk of COVID-19, that does not mean young people will be unaffected.
Dr Nathalie MacDermott, a clinical lecturer at King's College London, told Sky News: "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."
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