British prisoner with suspected coronavirus was ‘transferred from Thai jail’
A prisoner who collapsed in his cell last night with suspected coronavirus had recently been moved from a jail in Thailand, it is understood.
It comes after two inmates at HMP Bullingdon, Oxfordshire, were tested for the airborne disease and put in isolation earlier today.
According to a prison source, a third who had recently been transferred from Thailand is now receiving treatment in a hospital close to the prison.
The other two who were showing flu-like symptoms are understood to be receiving treatment in Bullingdon’s medical wing.
A prison source told MailOnline: ‘All three prisoners were in single cells. A nurse who was in close proximity and contact with the collapsed prisoner has self-isolated as a precaution.’
It is understood that HMP Bullingdon has been put on lockdown for 72 hours – meaning prisoners will have to stay in their cells and have their meals served on plates pushed through their door hatches.
None of the prisoners are thought to have been been confirmed as having the new strain of coronavirus, which today was named ‘Covid-19’ by the World Health Organisation.
Public Health England officials are reportedly at the jail to manage the situation.
The government agency says it does not comment on suspected cases and would only make an announcement ‘if and when a case is confirmed’.
A total of 33 people have infected with the airborne virus in Thailand, the first country where people were diagnosed outside of China.
The disease is believed to have killed more than 1,000 people and infected around 43,000 others around the world.
Although some 25 countries have been hit by the virus, the majority of cases have been within China.
The bug is thought to have originated at an live-animal market in Wuhan, Hubei province but researchers are still trying to find out more about the nature of the disease.
So far eight people in the UK have been officially diagnosed with the Sars-like disease, all of whom were taken ill in York and Brighton.
British businessman Steve Walsh, 53, is thought to have infected at least 11 people over the past two weeks in multiple countries.
He reportedly caught the virus at a conference in Singapore before returning to Britain and shooting off for a four day skiing holiday in the French Alps.
Walsh, from Brighton, is believed to have passed the bug to five Britons at the Contamines-Montjoie resort, including a nine-year-old child.
He has now recovered and says his thoughts are with those who have fallen ill to the disease.
Two members of staff at his children’s school have self-isolated over fears they could have come into contact with someone carrying the bug.
Meanwhile two GP surgeries in Brighton linked with Walsh and other coronavirus cases remain closed as a precautionary measure.
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