The health ministry announced Thursday that a Japanese woman in her 80s who tested positive for COVID-19 has died, the first death in Japan related to the novel coronavirus.
Heath minister Katsunobu Kato said the woman was confirmed to have been infected after death. Kato added that she has no relation to Hubei province in China where the virus outbreak originated.
According to NHK, the woman was diagnosed with pneumonia Feb. 1. She died Thursday after her condition had deteriorated Wednesday.
Other media reports say that the authorities are still investigating the circumstances of her death and the COVID-19 infection. She was not a passenger of the Diamond Princess cruise ship that is currently quarantined in Yokohama.
