3 Japanese returnees from Wuhan test positive for new coronavirus

The three, who have been hospitalized -- one in stable condition and two without symptoms -- were among 206 people brought back Wednesday from the city at the center of the deadly outbreak of the pneumonia-causing virus, Kyodo reports.

It is the first time outside China that a person without symptoms has been confirmed to have been infected with the virus, according to Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

A further 210 Japanese were flown back home on Thursday on a second government-chartered flight, with some displaying symptoms such as coughing, according to the health ministry.

In the first group of returnees, all but two people agreed to be tested for the virus. The latest group is expected to be similarly screened.

«We will put top priority on protecting the lives and health of the people, and we will decide on what needs to be done without hesitation,» said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a parliamentary session, adding it was «extremely regrettable» that two people on the first flight refused to be screened.

Abe said authorities «spent a long time trying to convince them following their return» but could not force them to undergo testing as it is not mandatory under Japanese law.

The government is considering sending a third flight. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said there are still some 300 Japanese citizens who wish to return home from the central Chinese city, which has been placed under a virtual lockdown since last week.

Suga said the government is also considering using public facilities, including the National Police Academy, to house the returnees.

In addition to the three people on Wednesday's flight who tested positive for the virus, eight cases have been confirmed within Japan, mostly tourists from Wuhan.

Among the confirmed cases, a tour bus driver and a guide with no recent history of traveling to China were found to have been infected with the virus this week, with the health ministry acknowledging that human-to-human transmission has been taking place in Japan.

While Japan is on high alert to prevent the virus from spreading from person to person, health minister Katsunobu Kato said the situation has not yet reached the stage when the government needs to call for large-scale events to be cancelled.

China said confirmed cases of infection have exceeded 7,700 and the death toll has reached 170 in its mainland, including over 120 in Wuhan.

Aside from China and Japan, cases of infection have been confirmed in 14 countries including Thailand, Australia, Singapore and the United States, according to a World Health Organization report as of Wednesday.