The patient is a 30-year-old woman from Wuhan. It is not clear whether she is Japanese or Chinese. Fearing xenophobic reactions, the authorities are maintaining maximum confidentiality about those infected. Fear hasn’t stopped lunar New Year celebrations. Yesterday thousands of people watched the Tokyo Tower lit in red to usher in the Year of the White Rat.

Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Japanese Ministry of Health confirmed the country’s third coronavirus infection this morning.

The patient identified by the authorities is a woman who comes from the Chinese city of Wuhan (the epicentre of the infection). She arrived in Japan on 18 January. It is not clear whether she is Japanese, Chinese or of a third nationality.

Health officials have said that they will maintain absolute confidentiality in such cases, given the very high risk of creating a media circus and sparking xenophobia or classism.

In any case, the 30-eyar-old woman shows no symptoms since catching the disease.

She went to a hospital in Tokyo of her own free will, where the infection was confirmed.

At 11 am today, Chinese authorities released the latest infection data, reporting at least 1,326 cases, 729 in Hubei province alone. Wuhan is Hubei’s provincial capital.

The death toll currently stands at 41, 30 in Hubei, one in Hebei, one in Heilongjiang, and two in Guangxi. In the latter, a two-year-old girl is the youngest patient to be infected.

In one day, the number of infections and deaths almost doubled. Doctors warn that people infected initially show no symptoms.

Meanwhile, the virus is spreading to other parts of the world.

In Europe, three cases were confirmed in France, one in Bordeaux and two in Paris. One case has been reported in Australia, two in the United States, three in Singapore, one in Nepal, five in Thailand, two in Japan, two in Vietnam, two in South Korea, and one in Taiwan.

In Japan, the health emergency has not stopped Lunar New Year celebrations, which began today.

Last night, the iconic Tokyo Tower lit up in red, as it has done for the past ten years, to usher in the Year of the White Rat.

Thousands of people celebrated on the streets, albeit wearing health masks.