The health authorities have reported that the wife of a man who had tested positive for the new coronavirus on Wednesday, has become the 22nd Hong Kong victim of the bug that has been spreading across China.

The 55-year-old woman had not travelled to the mainland in the last two weeks.

She and her 56-year-old husband who works in Shenzhen were taken to Princess Margaret Hospital in an ambulance on Tuesday after both fell sick.

The man was admitted, but his wife was discharged because she had only mild symptoms.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the woman took a taxi to the hospital on Thursday after being told her husband had tested positive for the new virus.

The official said that when they contacted the woman to tell her to come back to the hospital, they found out she was already on her way. Now they are trying to locate the taxi driver who took her there.

The woman's diagnosis with the virus brings the total number of confirmed infections in Hong Kong to 22.