Photo/Illutration Saitama Governor Motohiro Ono speaks at a news conference on April 21. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A man in his 50s in Saitama Prefecture died at home while awaiting hospital treatment for a “mild” case of novel coronavirus infection as the outbreak continued to spread around Japan.

A total of 451 people were confirmed infected with the novel coronavirus on April 22 as of 11:30 p.m., bringing the overall figure in Japan to 11,993, excluding cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Sixteen new deaths were confirmed across the nation on April 22, raising the total to 299.

More than 100 infected patients died in the past week and account for one-third of the death toll in Japan.

The Saitama Prefecture man was confirmed infected with the virus on April 16, but since his case was considered mild, he was told to wait at home until his scheduled hospitalization on April 21.

His condition deteriorated at his home, and his death was confirmed by the hospital in the day of his scheduled hospitalization.

Tokyo saw 132 new cases on April 22. Of them, 32 were people in their 20s, the most among age groups, followed by 25 in their 50s and 24 in their 30s.

In Nagano, three staff members of an osteopathic clinic tested positive for the virus.

Nagano Mayor Hisao Kato was among 111 people who had used the clinic and came in close contact with the infected workers.

Kato tested negative on April 22, but he will perform his official duties at home until April 25 to observe and check his condition.