Japanese man hospitalised for pneumonia dies of Coronavirus in Wuhan

Japanese man who was hospitalised for Pneumonia in Wuhan has died of Novel Coronavirus, Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement. The man who was in his sixties is reportedly the first Japanese person to die from the deadly virus. In China, the epidemic has killed nearly 722 people and infected over 37,000.

His disease was labelled as Pneumonia

On Saturday, Japanese foreign ministry citing Chinese medical officials revealed that the man was suspected of having been infected from coronavirus but due to difficulties in diagnosing the disease, it was labelled viral pneumonia. An official from the ministry said that this man is potentially the first Japanese to die from coronavirus as the government does not know any other who had died from the deadly virus. 

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News of this death comes as reports about the number of passengers on the quarantined Japanese ship infected from coronavirus jumped to 64 surfaced on Saturday. The affected passengers have been subject to a two-week quarantine period. The latest report comes a day after 41 people were found to have contracted the disease. The outbreak has claimed more than 700 lives and the current number of confirmed cases stand at more than 30,000.

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According to reports, Japanese officials have so far tested 280 people on board the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined after an 80-year-old passenger from Hong Kong was detected with flu-like symptoms. Test results of six people were released on February 8, in which three people were confirmed to have contracted the virus. Although, the Japanese health ministry did not reveal details about the passengers.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare told an international media outlet that the health screening was commenced by several dozen quarantine officers onboard the vessel that quarantined 2,666 passengers and 1,045 staff members. Further, it was also reported that there were passengers from approximately 56 countries.