Coronavirus is thought to have spread into Evin prison, were West Hampstead’s Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe continues to be held – and the ward she is being kept on has now run out of antiseptic, disinfectant, and bleach.

That's according to husband Richard, writing in the i on Friday.

In the past week, the Corvid-19 virus has "overtaken" Iran, and a spokesperson for the country's health ministry said the country now has 15 laboratories testing samples and warned that the number of cases is likely to increase.

Earlier this week surreal scenes saw the head of the country's anti-coronavirus task force coughing and sweating in TV interviews, before he too admitted he had developed the infection.

Then on Friday the state's authorities took the unprecedented step of cancelling Friday prayer services.

Richard wrote: "The threat of coronavirus in Evin prison seems much more severe because of the wider health conditions.

"Nazanin herself has a variety of health conditions, from unexplained collapses to irregular heartbeats, to strange incapacities in her neck and arms - as a direct consequence of her time in prison. The same is true of her cellmates."

He confirmed to this newspaper, that after talk in Iran that the authorities would temporarily send prisoners home, Nazanin had applied for this, but was waiting for a decision. He was set to get an update on this on Saturday.

Earlier this week Sherry Izadi, the wife of Anoosheh Ashoori - another British dual-national in Evin - appeared on the BBC to discuss the fear of the virus spreading to those vulnerable in prison.

Nazanin has now been in prison for almost four years on charges - always denied - of spying. She was arrested while on holiday with her daughter Gabriella, and visiting her parents.

Gabriella was flown home to London last October.