British Prisoner Had No Symptoms Of COVID-19 - Thai Health Official

By Linda Khoo Hui Li BANGKOK, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- Thailand said the British prisoner who collapsed in a prison in United Kingdom (UK) with suspected COVID-19 had undergone medical check-ups and showed no symptoms of the deadly virus before he was extradited from the kingdom. Dr Sophon Iamsirithawon, director of the Department of Disease Control, said the 31-year-old man was extradited on Jan 27. He said the prisoner was subjected to a medical check-up that included a chest X-ray before leaving the kingdom. “He was healthy with no fever. He was fit to travel,” he told a media conference here Wednesday. The British prisoner, arrested in Pattaya on Nov 1 last year for drug-related offences, was reported to have collapsed at HM Prison Bullingdon in Oxfordshire on Monday. Meanwhile, Director-general of Thailand Department of Corrections, Naras Savestanan said the department has taken all preventive measures against 2019-novel coronavirus, now officially known as COVID-19, in all prisons in the country. “There are 374,406 inmates in Thailand. We have not received any reports inmate infected with the deadly virus,” he said. At present, there are 33 confirmed cases in Thailand. Eleven of them have fully recovered and discharged while another 22 remain in hospitals. -- BERNAMA