BEIJING (REUTERS) - The northwestern Chinese province of Gansu has confirmed 17 new coronavirus cases imported from Iran, bringing the total imported cases to 28, the province's health authorities said late on Friday (March 6).

The 17 new patients were among quarantined passengers who entered the provincial capital of Lanzhou on commercial flights from Iran between March 2 and March 5, the Gansu Health Commission said in a statement on its website.

Before the new cases, Gansu had reported 11 imported infections from Iran.

A total of 283 passengers arriving from Iran are currently under quarantine, it said.

Last month, Gansu became the first province to lower its emergency response measures from level I to level III, reflecting the lack of new infections.