Warren confirmed Reed’s death in a series of messages posted to Twitter, as well as a statement originally published by The Boston Globe. Following her initial announcement, Warren shared a photo of Reed and praised his “extra special” smile, before citing the unique difficulties that come with losing a loved one at a time when hospitals across the country have implemented policies restricting visitation and widespread social distancing orders remain in place.

“I’m grateful to the nurses and frontline staff who took care of him, but it’s hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say ‘I love you’ one more time—and no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close,” she wrote. “I’ll miss you dearly my brother.”

Reed passed away in Oklahoma, where limitations on visitors have been temporarily imposed among the state’s hospitals. In additional commemorative messages shared Thursday morning, Warren noted that he was an Air Force veteran who joined the military when he was 19 years old.

“He was charming and funny, a natural leader,” her messages continued. “What made him extra special was his smile—quick and crooked, it always seemed to generate its own light, one that lit up everyone around him.”

Warren had not previously disclosed her brother’s coronavirus diagnosis to the public. According to the Boston Globe’s report, Reed tested positive for the disease near the start of April and was admitted to an Oklahoma hospital’s intensive care unit on April 15. In addition to Warren, he is survived by siblings John Herring and David Herring. All three brothers appeared in the senator and former U.S. presidential candidate’s campaign video earlier this year.

The coronavirus had claimed at least 46,851 lives in the United States by Thursday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracker, with roughly 844,000 cases diagnosed throughout the national outbreak. Although individuals of all ages are susceptible, both the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have acknowledged that risks of developing severe symptoms and further health complications after contracting the illness are much higher among those older than 65. Mortality data in the U.S. and across the globe have supported those findings in hospital and intensive care unit admissions as well as fatalities. According to the CDC, 8 out of 10 deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. have occurred in adults who are 65 and older.

Warren has been vocal about protecting public health and economic security over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. She has criticized the White House’s response to the national outbreak and advocated for widespread access to medical care, emergency paid leave and unemployment insurance.