Tributes to Walsall coronavirus patient after death aged 66
The family and friends of a "true gentleman" from Walsall have been left devastated after he died having tested positive for coronavirus.
Basharat Hussain was initially treated at Walsall Manor Hospital but was later transferred to Heartlands Hospital, where he died on Wednesday at the age of 66.
The father-of-seven, who lived in Pleck, had been on a ventilator for more than a week.
Former Walsall councillor and current interim chairman of the Union of Muslim Organisations (UMO) Mohammed Arif said Mr Hussain’s funeral can only be attended by family members due to the current restrictions.
And he added the family wanted to send a clear message for people to abide by the Government guidance to ensure they don’t suffer the same tragedy.
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Mr Arif said: “Basharat was a true gentleman, a very quiet man and had been a regular member of the congregation at Birchills Mosque.
“We had all been praying for him to pull through but his condition deteriorated and the he was unable to fight the Covid-19.
“Basharat was the opening bowler for my cricket team in the late 1975 onwards. He had a bypass operation several years ago.
“He had caught coronavirus and had been on a ventilator machine. He sadly lost his battle with the virus today.”
He added: “The family does not want others to go through the same grief.
“They have no idea how Basharat caught Covid-19. It is imperative that we learn from this tragic loss and comply with Government’s guidelines to save lives.
“With the current coronavirus restrictions in place, the funeral will only have immediately family members.
“Normally, I would have expected at least a 1000 people at Birchills Mosque for his funeral.”
