Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato says another 70 cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed on the cruise ship Diamond Princess.

Kato cited the number on Sunday in an NHK program.

New cases of the coronavirus in Japan have been confirmed, bringing the total to over 330, including 285 on a cruise ship offshore.

Health authorities are working quickly to come up with effective measures to contain the spread after they found it hard to track down the infection routes of some cases.

Health experts confirmed new cases of the coronavirus across Japan on Saturday. The total number of infections is now over 330, including 285 on a quarantined cruise ship.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials said on Saturday that eight more people had been confirmed to be infected with the virus there.

A group of Japanese people who evacuated the virus-stricken Chinese city of Wuhan on the third government-chartered flight, except for one, have gone home after a quarantine period.

Japan's health ministry says when they returned to Japan on January 31st, all 145 people tested negative for the new coronavirus and exhibited no symptoms, such as fever,.

AI technology is being used to provide information online about the new coronavirus.

The operator of the messaging application LINE set up an official health ministry account using artificial intelligence to respond to people's questions on occurrences of the virus and precautionary measures.

Tokyo metropolitan government officials say eight more people have been confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus.

The officials say seven of the eight came into close contact with a taxi driver who was found to be infected with the virus on Thursday.

Japan's health ministry says another 67 cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed on the cruise ship Diamond Princess.

This brings the number of passengers and crew found to be infected with the virus to 285.

Japan's health ministry has decided to begin clinical trials on patients infected by the new coronavirus with a drug used to treat HIV.

Thailand and other countries have reported that the symptoms of coronavirus patients improved after they were administered antiviral drugs that are used to prevent the onset of AIDS.

Health experts are studying new cases of the coronavirus across Japan. They say the total number of infections in the country has climbed to 262.

Authorities said on Saturday a second doctor, his wife and an inpatient at a hospital in Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan all tested positive.

More than 10 medical personnel were seen boarding a cruise ship docked at Yokohama Port on Saturday morning as the vessel has been quarantined in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak.

Some passengers could be seen exercising on the deck of the Diamond Princess, while others enjoyed the views.

NHK has learned that a second doctor at a hospital in Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan has tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The surgeon, who is in his 50s, works at Saiseikai Arida Hospital, where another doctor in his 50s and a patient in his 70s have both tested positive. The development makes the surgeon the third case in the prefecture.

Several cases of the new coronavirus infections were reported in Japan on Friday. The total number in the country stands at 259, including 218 from a cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama south of the capital.

Among the new cases, two people live in Tokyo.

Organizers of an event to showcase Japanese culture in line with this summer's Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games unveiled on Friday the details of the opening ceremony.

The ceremony for the Japan Cultural Expo will be held on March 14 in two parts at the Tokyo National Museum.

The rash of new cases has the Japanese government scrambling to make sure the virus doesn't spread any further.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, " We're setting up an expert panel consisting of front-line specialists on infectious diseases to strengthen measures."