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Coronavirus: British Cruise Ship Passenger Dead In Japan, Government Confirms

A British man who was aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama has died from coronavirus, the first death of a UK citizen during the outbreak.

The Japanese health ministry said the man – who has not been named – was the first foreigner from the ship to die of Covid-19.

Confirming the news, an FCO spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Japan and are in contact with local authorities.

“Our sympathies and thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”

A guard stands at a restricted area in front of the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama
A guard stands at a restricted area in front of the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama

It comes as another case was confirmed in the UK brining the total to 20.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said in a statement that the virus was passed on in the UK but the original source of the virus was “unclear”.

It added that there was no “immediately identifiable link” to overseas travel.

Boris Johnson said the coronavirus was now the government’s top priority and told Sky News on Friday that he had met with the health secretary and chief medical officers to discuss the preparations.

He said: “On the issue of coronavirus, which obviously is a great concern to people, I just want to reassure everybody and say that the NHS is making every possible preparation.”

Johnson said that people were right to be concerned about the virus but the best thing they could do was regularly wash their hands with soap and water.

But he confirmed that “further advice” from ministers would be coming next week, including how the government would deal with a further spread of the virus across the UK.

In other developments:

  • About 83,800 people around the globe have now been infected with Covid-19, while 2,867 people have died after contracting the virus.

  • The World Health Organisation has upgraded the global risk of the virus spreading to its highest level

  • There have...

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