Posters for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are pictured on a wall in Tokyo, Japan March 17, 2020. (Photo: Agencies)

TOKYO - Japan's health ministry and local governments said Friday the number of COVID-19 infections nationwide had risen to 962 as of 10:30 am local time here.

The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 40 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including those from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama, close to Tokyo.

Of the 962 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan, the majority are in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, which has confirmed 157 cases, followed by Aichi Prefecture with 134 confirmed cases, Osaka has 119, Tokyo 118, Hyogo 95 and Kanagawa Prefecture has confirmed 66 COVID-19 infections, according to the latest statistics from health ministry and local authorities.

The health ministry said there are currently a total of 61 patients considered severely ill and are on ventilators to receive respiratory assistance or have been admitted to intensive care units for medical treatment.

The ministry said, meanwhile, that a total of 766 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovery.