Two people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Britain, according to health officials on January 31, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

London (People's Daily) - UK health officials confirmed the country’s first domestic coronavirus (COVID-19) case on Friday.

England’s chief medical officer said the infected person, a male, had not traveled outside of the country, and it remains unclear whether he contracted the virus directly or indirectly from someone who had recently been abroad.   

This latest infection brings the total number of UK COVID-19 cases to 20. Meanwhile, a British man died in Japan on Friday after contracting the virus while onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, becoming the UK’s first COVID-19 fatality.

UK chief medical officers have raised the public risk from low to moderate but said the risk for individuals is still low.