A Japanese man in his 20s who returned home from Wuhan on a government-chartered flight on Friday has tested positive for the new coronavirus raging in the Chinese city, Japan's health ministry said Saturday.

The man has a mild fever and respiratory symptom, according to the ministry.

He is the 10th case of infection with the virus among the 763 people who have been brought home from Hubei Province, including Wuhan, on four charter planes dispatched by the Japanese government from late last month.

Infection with the new coronavirus has now been confirmed in Japan for 90 people, including 64 on the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship quarantined off Japan. Of the total, 39 are Japanese nationals.

According to the ministry, the man is a resident in Wuhan. He showed no symptom in a test aboard the plane, but a subsequent checkup at a medical institution found he had a fever.

It is not known whether he had a clear contact with any patient of the new coronavirus in China.

The fourth government-chartered plane that evacuated the Japanese man carried a total of 198 people, including Chinese family members of Japanese nationals.

Twelve people, including nine Japanese, showed symptoms such as coughing and fever, on the plane and were admitted to a Tokyo hospital. Two more people were hospitalized later after complaining of symptoms.

JIJI Press