Japan confirms two evacuees test positive for coronavirus

Japan's health ministry on Tuesday confirmed two Japanese evacuees from Japan who returned to Tokyo on the first two chartered flights tested positive Monday for the new virus, more than 10 days after coming home.

One is a man in his 50s who was part of the first group of 206 Japanese evacuees who returned to Japan on January 29 and had been in quarantine in a hotel near Tokyo.

He developed a fever and a cough and was hospitalised on Friday.

A second case is a man in his 40s who had returned home because he was travelling with a small child. He developed a fever on Saturday and was hospitalised on Monday with symptoms of pneumonia, and tested positive.

The two additional coronavirus cases brings Japan's total to 163.