The Japanese health ministry announced on Jan. 16 that a Chinese man has brought into Japan the new coronavirus behind the most recent pneumonia outbreak, Kyodo News reported.

Second case of infection outside of China

The man is in his 30s and resides in Tokyo's Kanagawa prefecture. He returned to Japan on Jan. 6 after travelling to Wuhan where the outbreak began in December 2019.

According to Bloomberg, the man did not visit the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan which was linked to the outbreak.

The man was then hospitalised on Jan. 11 and has recovered and discharged on Wednesday, Jan. 15.

This was the second case of infection outside of China after a female tourist from Hubei province was found infected in Bangkok, Thailand. She did not visit the seafood market either.

If the two of them had not been to Huanan Seafood Market, it would suggest that the virus had spread to other parts of the city.

However, the World Health Organisation said on Jan. 14 that there is no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission and has called for investigations to continue in China to identify the source of the outbreak.

No additional cases have been detected since Jan. 3, 2020 in China.

At least 41 people in Wuhan have been infected, with one confirmed death from the illness.

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