Northwest China's Gansu province reported five new confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus on Tuesday. Among them, the first confirmed case was reported in Pingliang, three in Lanzhou and one in Zhangye.

By the end of Tuesday, Gansu province had reported a total of 24 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus and three severe cases.

Of the confirmed cases, there were 14 in Lanzhou, one in Baiyin, two in Linxia, one in Dingxi, two in Zhangye, one in Longnan, one in Jinchang, one in Tianshui and one in Pingliang. Among the severe cases, three were in Lanzhou.

So far, 388 close contacts have been traced and eight have been released from quarantine. The rest are under medical observation.

Lin Duo, secretary of the Gansu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, went to Linxia on Tuesday to look into the prevention and control efforts against the disease, during which he called for better-coordinated efforts and logistical guarantees in the fight against the disease.