Sadeq Al Howsh worked tirelessly for 17 years to protect the public until he contracted the novel coronavirus that took his life this week.
Dr Al Howsh, 58, originally from Libya, was an orthopaedic surgeon with St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
He died at Whiston Hospital in the British city of Liverpool on Monday after testing positive for coronavirus.
The doctor was given a standing ovation by hundreds of his colleagues, NHS staff and patients, who stood outside Whiston Hospital, as his hearse departed the building.
A round of applause was heard as they bid farewell to their beloved colleague and member of the community.
Friends and colleagues remember Dr Al Howsh as a hard working and talented surgeon who had always took matters in his own hands to help others.
Speaking to the BBC, Ravi Gudena, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the trust, said "nothing was ever too much trouble for Sadeq".
"He was always there to help anyone and was happy to do whatever was needed to help his colleagues and patients," Dr Gudenea said.
Ann Marr, the trust's head executive, said her former colleague was "without doubt, a much loved member of the team".
Dr Al Howsh's colleagues have set up a fund-raising page to support his family.
His family described him as a loving husband and father to four sons who will be dearly missed.
"We cannot put into words the depth of our loss. He loved his work and was dedicated to supporting his patients and his colleagues."
They asked the public to give them privacy and time to grieve his death.
"We are extremely appreciative for all the kind words and messages we have received," they said.
Dr Al Howsh was born in Tripoli in 1961. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tripoli in 1987 and worked at the Tripoli Central Hospital until 1992 before moving to the UK.
The British Ambassador to Libya, Nicholas Hopton conveyed his condolences to Dr Al Howsh’s family.
“We thank him for all he did for our NHS, and the many other Libyans doing the same. Are thoughts are with his family,” Mr Hopton said on Twitter.
Dr Al Howsh joined the hundreds of NHS and private healthcare staff, from heart surgeons to nurses, porters and volunteers, who have lost their lives to the coronavirus in the UK.
There has been a growing concern over the lack of protective garments for those working on the front lines fighting the disease.
The UK has more than 140,000 confirmed cases and 18,738 hospital deaths.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Scoreline:
Cardiff City 0
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum 57', Milner 81' (pen)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Imperial%20Island%3A%20A%20History%20of%20Empire%20in%20Modern%20Britain
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Charlotte%20Lydia%20Riley%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Bodley%20Head%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20384%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
US Industrial Market figures, Q1 2017
Vacancy Rate 5.4%
Markets With Positive Absorption 85.7 per cent
New Supply 55 million sq ft
New Supply to Inventory 0.4 per cent
Under Construction 198.2 million sq ft
(Source: Colliers)
Background: Chemical Weapons
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
NEW ARRIVALS
Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
