Japan Reports First Death Due to New Coronavirus

Japan on Thursday reported the first death from the fatal coronavirus, according to local media.

The deceased was said to be an 80-year-old Japanese woman, Kyodo News reported quoting the Health Ministry.

“She had not traveled out of Japan in recent times but was found to be infected with the virus after she died,” Japan’s Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told a press conference.

She was in hospital since Feb. 1 after she was diagnosed with pneumonia.

The deceased woman belonged to Kanagawa province near Tokyo.

It is third death outside mainland China after one person died in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines due to the same virus.

Nearly 250 others have been affected by the virus in Japan which has claimed more than 1,360 lives in China.

Most of the affected people are aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship which has been quarantined in Yokohama province, south of the capital Tokyo.

Around 3,700 passengers and crew from 56 countries and regions are on board the vessel.

The vessel was quarantined at the dock after a man disembarked in Hong Kong was found to have been infected with the virus.

The virus has been a major concern on the world stage since its outbreak in Wuhan, China last December. (AA)