Death toll in Japan from coronavirus surpasses 100

TOKYO

The death toll in Japan from the novel coronavirus surpassed 100 Sunday, according to the Ministry of Health.

The ministry said in a statement that nine more people succumbed to the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of deaths to 104.

With 143 more people diagnosed with the virus in Tokyo in the last 24 hours, the number of confirmed cases in Japan reached 4,570.

Japan's minister in charge of coronavirus measures, Yasutoshi Nishimura, said the government may consider declaring a state of emergency as part of measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Since appearing in Wuhan, China last December, the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to at least 183 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows more than 1.2 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the global death toll above 69,000, and over 260,000 recoveries.

*Writing by Burak Dag in Ankara