TOKYO: The number of new coronavirus cases confirmed in Japan has increased by three to 23, the health ministry said Tuesday.

Of the three, two are visitors from China, while the remainder is a Japanese woman who returned from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, aboard a government-chartered flight.

All of the three once tested negative for the virus, which causes sometimes fatal pneumonia, but were later confirmed infected through additional tests, ministry officials said.

The Japanese woman in her 50s returned to Japan on Thursday on the second chartered flight sent to Wuhan by the government.

She had a fever of 37.8 degrees Celsius when she consulted a doctor. But she tested negative Friday.

The woman began to show symptoms of pneumonia Saturday and was confirmed infected through an additional test Tuesday.

Of the two Chinese, one is a female resident of Wuhan in her 30s. She arrived in Japan on Jan. 21, had a fever of 38.8 degrees Thursday and was hospitalized the next day after being diagnosed with pneumonia.

She tested negative Saturday. But her infection was confirmed Tuesday through an additional examination.

The other one is a male resident of Hubei Province, which includes Wuhan. He arrived in Japan in late January and took part in a bus tour whose participants included an infected person before returning to China on Thursday.

During his stay in Japan, he tested negative. But a later examination of his sample found Tuesday that he had been infected.

JIJI Press