The first Malaysian citizen to be infected with the novel coronavirus has been confirmed by health authorities there on Feb. 4.

The man is from the state of Selangor.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 10, Reuters reported.

Malaysian health authorities said the 41-year-old Malaysian had travelled to Singapore for a meeting from Jan. 16 to 23 with colleagues from China.

One of the colleagues is from Wuhan, the epicentre of the epidemic.

Showed signs of infection after a week

The Malaysian returned to Malaysia on Jan. 23, but showed symptoms only on Jan. 29, nearly a week after he returned to the country.

He then went to a private hospital to seek treatment for fever and cough.

He was then referred to the Sungai Buloh Hospital on Feb. 2.

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said lab results on Feb. 3 confirmed that the man had contracted the virus, along with a 63-year-old man from Wuhan who had been under observation.

He said his ministry has contacted its Singapore counterpart to begin contact tracing.