Japan's health ministry said Wednesday it has confirmed that 10 people aboard a cruise ship at the port of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, just south of Tokyo, are infected with the new coronavirus originating in China.

The 10 people, including three Japanese nationals, were carried to a medical institution in Kanagawa that is designated for treating specific infectious diseases, the ministry said.

Some of them have a fever and are exhibiting respiratory symptoms, but all are conscious, according to the ministry.

Quarantine procedures started on Monday for the Diamond Princess cruise ship after a Hong Kong man who recently disembarked the ship was found to be infected with the virus. The first quarantine clearance done for the ship in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, on Saturday, was cancelled due to the discovery of the Hong Kong man's infection.

The number of people confirmed to be infected with the virus in Japan has increased to 33.

Health minister Katsunobu Kato said the government will request those on the cruise ship to stay aboard for 14 days in principle. The government plans to have aged people aboard the ship to undergo virus checks even if they exhibit no related symptoms, considering their risk of becoming seriously ill in case of infection, the minister added.

Of the infected people, four are in their 50s, four in their 60s and one each in their 70s and 80s, the ministry said. The three infected Japanese nationals are a woman in her 50s and a man and a woman in their 60s.

Aboard the cruise ship were 1,045 crew members from a total of 56 countries and regions and 2,666 passengers, including 1,281 Japanese nationals.

The ministry has collected testing samples of 273 people on the ship. They include 120 people who had a fever and other symptoms and those who had close contact with people with symptoms.

The ministry has so far received the virus check results for 31 of them, including the 10 who tested positive. Once other test results become available, the number of infected people may increase further.

Of the 10 infected people, two had close contact with the Hong Kong man in his 80s, the ministry said.

The two joined a bus tour in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, when the cruise ship made a port call there on Jan. 22. Forty passengers of the ship, including the two, and two drivers were on the tour bus.

On Wednesday, the ministry asked the Kanagawa prefectural government to transport the 10 infected people to the medical institution from the cruise ship. A patrol vessel of the Japan Coast Guard and ambulances were employed to carry the patients.

"We'll take thorough measures to prevent the spread (of the coronavirus) while putting the utmost priority on checking health conditions of the (cruise ship) passengers," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The prime minister also said that the 10 people in question will be hospitalized in accordance with the infectious diseases control law. "We'll not allow the remaining passengers to disembark for the time being and will have them stay aboard the ship for a necessary period."

JIJI Press