British citizens trapped on a cruise ship rife with coronavirus may be quarantined in Japan, it emerged on Sunday as they accused the Foreign Office of abandoning them. Ministers are resisting pressure to immediately repatriate the 78 Britons onboard after the US, Canada, Hong Kong, South Korea and Italy stepped up efforts to rescue their respective passengers. Thousands of people have been quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise liner of the Japanese port of Yokohama following an outbreak of the deadly illness. At least 355 people aboard the cruise are infected, making it the largest cluster of coronavirus cases outside of mainland China. Auto update On 2:53am Toilet roll thieves wanted Hong Kong residents are enduring a shortage of basic supplies Hong Kong residents are enduring a shortage of basic supplies CREDIT: MAY JAMES/BLOOMBERG Armed robbers who stole hundreds of toilet rolls were being hunted by Hong Kong police on Monday, in a city wracked by shortages caused by coronavirus panic-buying. Toilet rolls have become hot property in the densely packed business hub, despite government assurances that supplies remain unaffected by the virus outbreak. Supermarkets have found themselves unable to restock quickly enough, leading to sometimes lengthy queues and shelves stripped bare within moments of opening. Alongside toilet rolls, there has been a run on staples like rice and pasta as well as hand sanitiser and other cleaning items. Police said a truck driver was held up early on Monday by three men outside a supermarket in Mong Kok, a working class district with a history of "triad" organised crime gangs. "A delivery man was threatened by three knife-wielding men who took toilet paper worth more than HK$1,000 ($98)," a police spokesman told AFP. 1:51am Asian markets open lower over virus fears Hong Kong stocks opened lower on Monday as the death toll from China"s new coronavirus jumped and concerns deepened over the potential economic fallout from the epidemic. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.18 percent, or 48.89 points, to 27,766.71 in early trade. Mainland China"s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.27 percent higher, or 7.98 points, at 2,924.99. In Japan, Tokyo stocks also opened lower. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.81 percent, or 191.88 points, at 23,495.71 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.85 percent, or 14.46 points, at 1,688.41. 1:13am Rate of new cases back on the rise Shoppers queue up to get supplies in Beijing Shoppers queue up to get supplies in Beijing CREDIT: KEVIN FRAYER/GETTY IMAGES The number of new cases in China grew yesterday, the country"s health commission confirmed, ending three consecutive days in which the number of new cases fell. Cases grew to 2,048, up slightly from a leap of 2,009 on Saturday. In total, there are now more than 70,000 cases of the coronavirus and 1,770 have died - 105 since yesterday.