Johnson: We must be calm over virus

BORIS JOHNSON said the UK should be “confident and calm” over the threat of coronavirus following a rise in the number of cases in the country.

The Prime Minister praised the response of the NHS and said anyone concerned should “simply follow their advice”.

Meanwhile it is understood two prisoners at HMP Bullingdon in Oxfordshire are being tested for the illness and are being held in isolation.

One of the men is understood to have been recently transferred from a Thai jail.

They are both reported to be suffering flu-like symptoms. As of last night, a total of 1,358 people have been tested in the UK, of which 1,350 of which eight were positive, the Department of Health said.

Meanwhile the businessman at the centre of a UK outbreak of coronavirus has thanked the NHS for his treatment and said he is “fully recovered”.

Steve Walsh, 53, from Hove in Sussex, who is a Cub Scout leader, is in quarantine at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. He picked up coronavirus in Singapore while attending a conference. He said: “I was advised to attend an isolated room at hospital, despite

showing no symptoms, and subsequently self-isolated at home as instructed. When the diagnosis was confirmed I was sent to an isolation unit in hospital, where I remain, and, as a precaution, my family was also asked to isolate themselves.

“I also thank friends, family and colleagues for their support during recent weeks and I ask the media to respect our privacy.”

It comes as the World Health Organisation announced a name for the new coronavirus – Covid-19.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference a name was decided that “did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease”.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs in the Commons that new funding was being launched immediately “to support any urgent works the NHS needs for the coronavirus response, such as the creation of further isolation areas and other necessary facilities.”

Meanwhile, officials are working to trace patients of two healthcare workers who are among eight people in the UK – including two in York – to be diagnosed with coronavirus.

The pair, who were working in general practice in Brighton, are believed to have been in contact with around a dozen patients.