Japan confirms first infection from new coronavirus

Japan confirmed on Thursday its first case of the new coronavirus infection, traced to the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

The Japanese health ministry said a man in 30s has tested positive after returning from Wuhan.

The patient, residing in Kanagawa, west of Tokyo, returned from China on January 6.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the Japanese government is doing the utmost to collect information on the virus, and is ensuring quarantine upon entering the country.

Forty-one people in Wuhan have received a preliminary diagnosis of the novel coronavirus, a family of viruses that can cause both the common cold and more serious diseases.

A 61-year-old man with severe underlying conditions died from the coronavirus on Saturday.

Preliminary investigations indicate that most of the patients had worked at or visited a particular seafood wholesale market.