TOKYO (Xinhua): Japan's health ministry and local governments said Thursday (March 19) by 11.30am local time that one person infected by the Covid-19 virus had died in Osaka and three new cases were confirmed in Hyogo, Wakayama and Ibaraki prefectures, bringing the total number of cases to 924.

The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 39 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including those from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama, close to Tokyo.

Of the 924 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Japan, the majority are in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, which has confirmed 154 cases, followed by Aichi Prefecture with 130 confirmed cases, Osaka has 117, Tokyo 111, Hyogo 92 and Kanagawa Prefecture has confirmed 60 Covid-19 infections, according to the latest statistics from health ministry and local authorities.

The health ministry said there are currently a total of 60 patients considered severely ill and are on ventilators to receive respiratory assistance or have been admitted to intensive care units for medical treatment.

The ministry also said that a total of 718 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovery. - Xinhua