Coronavirus: Prisoner being tested for deadly virus identified

31-year-old is one of two inmates in isolation at HMP Bullingdon

A prisoner who is being tested for coronavirus after he was transferred from a jail in Thailand has been named as Mark John Rumble.

Thai authorities have confirmed the identity of the 31-year-old, who was taken to HMP Bullingdon after arriving in the UK around two weeks ago.

He is one of two prisoners at the jail being tested for the virus, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said will be called ​Covid-19.

The men are being held in isolation at the prison near Bicester, Oxfordshire, after reportedly suffering flu-like symptoms.

Access to one of the wings of the Category B prison has been restricted.

The viral infection, which is believed to have begun in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has so far killed 1,115 people – with only two of the deaths outside China.

There have been more than 45,000 cases of coronavirus across the world.

As of Tuesday evening, a total of 1,358 people had been tested for ​coronavirus in the UK, of which 1,350 were confirmed negative and eight positive, the Department of Health said.

Google street view image of HMP Bullingdon, near Bicester, in Oxfordshire. (Google)

A healthcare worker at Worthing Hospital’s A&E department is among the eight confirmed cases.

A female locum doctor, who had been working at County Oak Medical Centre, in Brighton, is also among the group.

Boris Johnson has praised the response of the NHS and said anyone concerned should “simply follow their advice”.

Speaking in Birmingham, the prime minister said: ”We are a great country, we have got a fantastic NHS, we have got fantastic doctors and advice, and they should simply take the advice of the NHS.

“People have every reason to be confident and calm about all that kind of thing... all the coronavirus, and any threats from disease.”

Additional reporting by Press Association