Passengers onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship are to be placed under quarantine for up to two weeks after a number tested positive for the coronavirus.

At least ten people on board the vessel, which is currently docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama, have tested positive for coronavirus.

The incubation period of the virus is believed to be around two weeks.

Health authorities said they began screening guests on Monday evening, and the vessel was placed under quarantine on Tuesday.

Almost 300 of the 3,700 people on the Diamond Princess have been tested so far.

The number of infected could rise as testing continues.

The checks began after an 80-year-old Hong Kong man who had been on the ship last month fell ill with the virus.

Japanese health minister, Katsunobu Kato, said the confirmed cases were among 31 results from 273 people tested so far.

In China alone, there are now more than 24,300 cases of the virus, with the death toll at 490.

Last week, more than 6,000 people onboard a cruise ship in an Italian port were put on lockdown over fears that a Chinese passenger could be carrying the virus.

The passenger later tested negative for coronavirus.