The Diamond Princess cruise ship, with over 3,700 people quarantined aboard due to fears of the new coronavirus, arrives at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port on Feb 6, 2020. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)

TAIPEI - Taiwan’s government said on Thursday it would suspend most visa applications from residents of Hong Kong and Macao starting from Friday, citing an increasing novel coronavirus infection rate in the two special administrative regions.

Hong Kong and Macao residents who have already obtained Taiwan visas will have to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arriving in Taiwan, said Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council

 “The epidemic situation is getting more and more serious in Hong Kong,” said Chiu Chui-cheng, deputy head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council at a news conference in Taipei. “This is a professional decision made by our (disease) control center.”

READ MORE: CE remains optimistic about controlling coronavirus

Hong Kong and Macao residents who have already obtained Taiwan visas will have to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arriving in Taiwan, the council added.

Hong Kong and Macao residents who have an urgent need to come to Taiwan will have to apply for visas outside the island and prove they have not been to the Chinese mainland for a 14-day period, it said.

Taiwan has gradually been restricting overseas visitors since the virus outbreak began picking up speed, including this week suspending the entry of all mainland residents.

READ MORE: 10 test positive for virus on quarantined cruise ship in Japan

Taiwan has only reported 13 cases as of Thursday. Hong Kong has reported 24 cases and Macao 10.

DOCKING BAN 

Also on Thursday, Taiwan’s health authority banned all international cruise ships from docking at the island, after 10 more people were tested positive for the virus on a quarantined cruise liner in Japan.

Taiwan confirmed two new infections by the novel coronavirus on Thursday, raising its total confirmed cases to 13, the island's epidemic monitoring agency said

Many tourists aboard the Japanese cruise ship entered Taiwan for a day-trip when the boat anchored at its northern port of Keelung on Jan 31, according to immigration authority, with local media saying they probably visited several popular tourist sites in Taipei.

One of those infected was a Taiwan resident.

The island's epidemic monitoring agency said Thursday it had confirmed two new infections by the novel coronavirus, raising its total confirmed cases to 13.

ALSO READ: 3,600 on cruise ship face quarantine after reaching HK

At the same time, one patient has fully recovered and been released from the hospital, the agency said at a press conference.

The two new confirmed cases were both Taiwan residents -- a man who went to the mainland city of Wuhan, the center of the epidemic, on Jan 17 and returned to Taiwan on Feb 2, and a woman who returned from Wuhan to Taiwan on Jan 21, according to the agency.

It added that the man and woman showed symptoms on Feb 3 and Feb 1, respectively, and both of them are being treated in isolation wards with pneumonia.