London: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been denied bail after arguing that his release from a UK prison would mitigate his "high risk" of catching coronavirus.

The Australian made the application in the Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday, local time, with less than 15 people in attendance due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Julian Assange had argued that he should be released from prison due to the coronavirus pandemic. Credit:Getty

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that Assange had absconded before and said that Belmarsh prison was following government guidelines to protect detainees with no confirmed virus cases there yet.

She accepted that government advice may change rapidly but for the time being she denied strict bail for the 48-year-old.