Meanwhile, Japan has become the second country outside China after Thailand to confirm a case of infection.
Japan’s health ministry says a man in his 30s from Kanagawa prefecture next to Tokyo tested positive for the virus.
He had travelled to the Chinese city Wuhan, where there has been a pneumonia outbreak believed to be caused by the virus.
The virus has infected at least 40 people in China, with many cases linked to a fish market in Wuhan.
The outbreak has prompted a travel alert from the US State Department, urging people travelling to the Wuhan region to avoid contact with animals, animal markets or animal products, among other precautions.
Meanwhile, Thai health authorities will step up monitoring of passengers arriving at airports, with 800,000 Chinese tourists expected to visit Thailand for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The disease has been identified as a coronavirus, which can cause infections ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
SARS killed more than 700 people around the world during an outbreak in 2002-03, having originated in China.
