Coronavirus in the UK: A&E worker in Worthing one of two healthcare professionals with Covid-19 virus The doctor worked at Worthing Hospital in West Sussex

An A&E doctor is among the eight confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK.

The doctor worked at Worthing Hospital in West Sussex hospital, and is thought to be separate to the locum doctor in Brighton who is also a confirmed case.

Staff at the hospital received a memo on Tuesday telling them a member of staff had been diagnosed with the disease.

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A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said that all services at the hospital, including surgery and out patients, are operating normally.

Eight cases

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

Access to one of the wings of the Category B prison has been restricted, and 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 Tuesday evening, a total of 1,358 people have been tested for coronavirus in the UK, of which 1,350 were confirmed negative and eight positive, the Department of Health said.

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

Speaking in Birmingham, Mr Johnson 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.”

Virus spread

It came as Steve Walsh, the businessman at the centre of a UK outbreak of coronavirus, thanked the NHS for his treatment and said he is “fully recovered”.

Mr Walsh, 53, from Hove in East Sussex – who is still in quarantine at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, picked up coronavirus while at a conference in Singapore.

On his way back to the UK, he stopped off for several days at a French ski chalet, where five Britons were subsequently infected with the virus.

He is also linked to at least five further cases of coronavirus in the UK, including the doctor working at the Brighton surgery.

A source told the PA news agency that the doctor, acting as a locum at County Oak Medical Centre, had only carried out one day of admin work there recently and had not had any direct contact with patients.

A second branch of the surgery also closed, but Brighton and Hove City Council confirmed they would reopen soon following “deep cleaning”.

Mr Walsh is also linked to one male patient who was taken ill in Majorca.

Tracing patients

Also on Tuesday, 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”.

Earlier, Professor Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England (PHE), said “contact tracing” run by PHE was “working very well”.

He added: “I should say that the people who are of concern are those who have had very close contact with somebody with coronavirus, face-to-face contact or within a two-metre range for 15 minutes or more.”

Prof Cosford said PHE was working to trace the small number of contacts of the two doctors, including a Brighton GP, who were among the four new cases announced on Monday.

In Brighton, Patcham Nursing Home said on Tuesday that it has “closed to all visitors” after one of the infected GPs visited a patient there about a week ago.

Additional reporting from Press Association.