Customers eat noodles in a restaurant in Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu province. Photo: cnsphotos

Heath commission authorities in Northwest China's Gansu Province confirmed on Sunday two novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, one from the UK via Shanghai, and another from Hubei Province in the same 24-hour period.  

It was also announced that of the 37 infected patients among the 311 passengers from Iran to Gansu taking charted flight, 35 had recovered and were discharged from hospitals. Two patients remain under quarantine and are receiving medical treatment at designated hospitals. 

The infected patient from the UK first arrived in Shanghai before traveling to Gansu Province. As of 8:00pm March 29, there have been nine imported cases traveling on flights, excluding the ones from Iran, with one patient fully recovered and discharged. The 175 people who had close contact with the UK case remain under medical observation.

The patient from Hubei, according to the commission, visited relatives in Xianning on January 14 and departed on March 22.  

The patient drove a private vehicle to Lanzhou on March 23 and was arranged to undergo quarantine measures.

During medical observations, the patient’s CT image revealed abnormalities during body inspections while under quarantine, where he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.

Two patients that had close contact with the UK traveler were placed under centralized quarantine.