An 80-year-old Perth man on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship is believed to be the first West Australian to be diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

Key points: The ship has been quarantined in Yokohama since February 4

The ship has been quarantined in Yokohama since February 4 The Perth man is one of more than 200 passengers diagnosed with the illness

The Perth man is one of more than 200 passengers diagnosed with the illness He will be transferred to a hospital on the Japanese mainland for treatment

The man was on board the ship with his wife, who has not tested positive to the virus.

The couple are among the more than 3,000 passengers and crew stuck on the ship in the Japanese port of Yokohama since February 4.

Their daughter Marcelly, who did not want her surname published, told ABC Radio Perth her father Val tested positive for the virus, which has been officially named COVID-19, this morning.

Passengers with coronavirus are transferred to hospital. ( Reuters: Kim Kyung-Hoon )

She said her father would now have to be transferred to a hospital on the mainland, but her mother would most likely remain quarantined on the ship.

Infected patients are all being taken off the ship and moved to specialist infection wards equipped with negative pressure rooms, to be treated by doctors and nurses in protective gear.

"There's no way he can be contacted, because he doesn't have a mobile phone, so that's my biggest worry at the moment, is how do we stay in contact with him," she said.

No obvious symptoms before diagnosis

Marcelly said her father had not shown any obvious flu-like symptoms.

"He's actually feeling really good. That's the strangeness of the situation, he's feeling great, my mum's feeling good," she said.

More than 200 passengers on board the Diamond Princess have tested positive to coronavirus. ( AP via Kyodo News: Sadayuki Goto )

"My Mum and Dad both have had a bit of mild gastro, but we thought that was from the food.

"But who knows, that could be related to the virus, I don't know."

Although it was not known how Marcelly's elderly father contracted the virus, she suspected it could be linked to the meals being served on the ship.

Sorry, this audio has expired Elderly Perth man on Diamond Princess cruise ship latest confirmed coronavirus case

"We know that a lot of the crews have also fallen ill that are preparing the food, so there are people saying that it may be coming from the food, but again it's nothing conclusive," she said.

Marcelly said her parents were anxious about being separated in the wake of the diagnosis.

"So I'm just trying to find out how we can keep in contact with Dad," she said.

Passengers are allowed out of their rooms for a short period every two days. ( AP via Kyodo News: Sadayuki Goto )

She said she had been communicating with the Australian consulate in Tokyo.

"They've really been on the front foot with written correspondence. They've been updating us once or twice a day, very prompt with replies to any questions I've had on email, so I can't fault them," she said.

Wife may face another 14 days in quarantine

Despite testing negative to the virus, Marcelly's mother, 77-year-old Iris, was now facing the prospect of being quarantined for another 14 days.

The official quarantine end date for the ship is February 19, but people who have been in close contact with infected cases will have their quarantine date reset to the last day they met.

Fresh supplies have been taken on board the ship. ( AP: Eugene Hoshiko )

"It's heartbreaking, it's a very tough situation," Marcelly said.

"It's like you can imagine — being in a prison with a TV and a four-by-four cell, with one hour of sunlight and fresh air every two days, it's not a great situation.

"She obviously had my Dad around previously, but now she doesn't have him, so it's not great."

"The Japanese Government has offered a land quarantine facility, but we don't have much information about what that alternative is, it doesn't look like it's any better than the situation they're in now.

"In actual fact the ship looks more luxurious than the other facility."

A total of 219 confirmed cases of coronavirus have now been linked to the Diamond Princess.

Forty-four people were diagnosed yesterday, even though the entire ship has been in a mandatory 14-day quarantine since February 4.

Looming supply chain crisis

The first diagnosis of a West Australian with coronavirus comes as local businesses prepare for a major disruption to their supply chains.

Balcatta-headquartered Jacksons Drawing Supplies sells more than 18,000 stock keeping units across its 12 retail stores.

Of those items, 11,000 originate from China or other countries in Asia with manufacturing links to China.

Michael Boercamp, managing director of Jacksons Drawing Supplies, has been unable to get in touch with suppliers in China to confirm stock orders. ( ABC News: Emily Piesse )

Managing director Michael Boercamp said he was unable to contact anyone from the company's suppliers in China.

"We can't contact them via email, no one's answering our calls," Mr Boercamp said.

"We're just hearing that there's no one available and then we don't know when they'll be able to start production, so at the moment we know nothing.

"Unavailability [of stock] will be a big issue. We certainly won't be increasing our prices. We don't know what charges China will lay on [as a result of coronavirus].

"At the moment, with school trade, we've got enough stock to cover … it's what will happen in a couple of months' time."

Osborne Park-based Arrow Computers, which receives stock from 30 wholesale suppliers, is in a similar predicament.

Arrow Computers owner Frank Beverwijk says almost everything the company sells is manufactured in China. ( ABC News: Emily Piesse )

Owner Frank Beverwijk said retailers were racing to order stock from wholesalers, with many unable to place orders due to a lack of stock.

"Everything we sell, almost everything, comes from China," Mr Beverwijk said.

He said many items were out-of-stock at a wholesale level, with prices on solid state drives having already risen by 20 to 30 per cent.

"There's still stock on the water, of larger items, so there'll still be a little bit of that coming through, but it really does depend on when the factories can get back to full production," he said.