Tributes to ‘true gentleman’ who died after contracting coronavirus as family say: We must learn from this tragic loss

Follow our live Covid-19 updates HERE Coronavirus: The symptoms 
Basharat Hussain, 66, was described as a 'quiet and peaceful gentleman'
PA

The family of a 66-year-old father-of-seven who died after contracting coronavirus have urged the public to learn from their grief.

Basharat Hussain died in hospital on Wednesday after testing positive for Covid-19.

The beloved pensioner from Walsall, Birmingham, spent around 10 days on a ventilator before his death, as he battled for his life.

His long-time friend Mohammed Arif shared the tragic news on Facebook, along with a message from Mr Hussain’s devastated family.

“Grateful to the family to allow me to share this with you,” Mr Arif wrote.

“My condolences to (them). I don’t normally share information on death but I am posting the sad news of passing away of my friend Basharat Hussain.”

Describing him as a “quiet and peaceful” gentleman, Mr Arif went on to issue a public appeal on behalf of his loved ones.

“The family has asked people to please STAY at home,” he wrote.

“Please DO follow Government guidelines on social distancing and self-isolation.

“(They) do not want others to go through the same grief,” he added.

“They have no idea how Basharat caught Covid-19. It is imperative that we learn from this tragic loss and comply with Government guidelines to save lives.”

Mr Arif said Mr Hussain’s funeral was taking place on Thursday, some three weeks after he was first taken to Walsall Manor Hospital.

The pensioner was a regular member of the congregation at Birchills Mosque, Mr Arif said, adding: “We had all been praying for him to pull through but his condition deteriorated and he was unable to fight the Covid-19.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in