Japan quarantined an entire cruise ship filled with passengers off a port near Tokyo on Tuesday due to fears over the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Officials in the country said they have begun screening more than 3,700 passengers on the ship off the port of Yokohama after a Hong Kong man who sailed on the vessel last month tested positive for the virus.
The 80-year-old man flew to Japan and boarded the ship, the Diamond Princess, run by Carnival Japan Inc., on Jan. 20, and disembarked in Hong Kong on Jan. 25, the company said.
Japan was also preparing to expand the scope of its screening for the virus, and test criteria after initial tests failed to detect the virus in some people who were later found to be infected, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters.
The virus has killed at least 425 people in mainland China, with at least two other deaths in surrounding countries.
More than 20,000 people are confirmed to have the infection.
Hong Kong reported its first death from the illness in the semi-autonomous territory Monday.
With wires