The patient is one of four members of a British family taken into observation in Mallorca on Friday after coming into contact with someone in France who was subsequently diagnosed with the virus. The other three tested negative. The death toll from the new coronavirus in mainland China crossed 800 on Sunday. There have been more than 37,000 confirmed cases in China, according to official data,.

The British man being kept in isolation in hospital in Mallorca was confirmed as having the coronavirus this morning.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed the diagnosis and has put out an appeal for the family’s privacy to be respected.

Health chiefs are to give an updated press conference later today.

The virus has spread to at least 27 other countries and regions, according to a Reuters count based on official reports, infecting more than 330 people.

They have asked people to stay calm and say they have every confidence in the health system on the island and all the protocols for dealing with this case, the first in Mallorca.

The British man is being kept in isolation in the Hospital de Son Espases, in Majorca’s capital of Palma. It is understood his wife and two daughters are also still in the same hospital but they have no symptoms.

His tests sent to the National Microbiology Center laboratory arrived at dawn this morning and have already been communicated to those affected.

Following the results, the search has already started to find people the man has been in contact with.

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A student from a high school in Brighton has been told to remain in self-isolation for 14 days over fears that they may have contracted the coronavirus.

In a message sent to parents on Friday, the Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA) said the pupil was staying at home in self-quarantine and that the school would be notified should they start to present symptoms.

The news comes as British citizens flying back from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, are due to be quarantined at a facility in Milton Keynes on Sunday.

The school in Brighton released a statement, it said: “As I am sure many of you are aware, media outlets reported on Thursday of a first confirmed case of the coronavirus in Brighton.

“We are working in collaboration with and being guided by the local authority and Public Health England to ensure that we at PACA are acting consistently with the right medical advice.

“Today we have been contacted by a parent of a student at PACA who was contacted by Public Health England as part of their investigation concerning the confirmed case that was reported in the press.”

Additional reporting by Rita Sobot.