A woman in her 80s infected with the new coronavirus died Thursday, becoming Japan's first confirmed fatality, health minister Katsunobu Kato said Thursday evening, as more cases of domestic infection were reported, in addition to hundreds on a quarantined cruise ship in Yokohama Bay.

The Japanese woman from Kanagawa Prefecture, just southwest of the capital, was found to be infected with the virus after she died, Kato said at a press conference.

The woman had been diagnosed with pneumonia and hospitalized since Feb. 1, the health ministry said, adding her breathing deteriorated on Feb. 6.