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Chinese health authorities announced on Tuesday that 24 324 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps by end of the day.

A total of 490 people have died of the disease, while 3 219 patients remained in severe condition, and 23 260 were suspected of being infected with the virus, with 892 people having been discharged from hospital after recovery.

Tuesday saw 3 887 new confirmed cases, 65 deaths — all of them in Hubei Province; 3 971 new suspected cases; 431 patients became seriously ill, and 262 people were discharged from hospital after recovery.

A total of 252 154 close contacts had been traced, among which, 18 457 were discharged from medical observation on Tuesday, with 185 555 others still under medical observation.

By end of Tuesday, 18 confirmed cases had been reported in the Hong Kong SAR, 10 in the Macao SAR and 11 in Taiwan.

The number of new suspected cases of the novel coronavirus infection on the Chinese mainland dropped for the 2nd consecutive day on Tuesday with 3 971 new suspected cases on Tuesday, compared with 5 072 cases on Monday and 5 173 on Sunday.

More medical teams are rushing to central China’s Hubei Province to aid novel coronavirus control.

A team of 138 medical workers from hospitals in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region flew to Hubei late on Tuesday to join the fight against the epidemic.

Meanwhile, southwest China’s Yunnan Province sent its second batch of 102 medical workers to Hubei.

Southern China’s Guangdong Province dispatched a team of seven public health emergency response experts and 57 medical workers to Wuhan, the capital of Hubei.

So far, Guangdong has sent over 400 experienced doctors and nurses to Wuhan.

In addition, northeast China’s Jilin Province sent 32 medical workers to Hubei on Tuesday.

By Monday, Hubei had reported 13 522 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection, with 414 deaths and 2 143 cases in severe or critical condition. China’s Ministry of Education has required colleges and universities nationwide to offer online teaching and learning resources following the postponement of school semesters due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The city government of Beijing vowed to enhance financial support for firms that face temporary difficulties amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Loans to such enterprises will not be suspended or withdrawn in advance, said Huo Xuewen, head of the Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, at a news conference on epidemic control on Tuesday. The city will increase credit support for players in the areas of epidemic prevention and control and people’s livelihood. Some Beijing banks have begun to offer low-cost financial support to key companies on the front lines of epidemic prevention and control.

The Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau said at the conference that companies that fail to pay social security premiums due to the coronavirus outbreak will not have their welfare entitlement compromised.

Researchers are working at a laboratory of the disease prevention and control centre in Nanyang, central China’s Henan Province.

Since the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus, the disease prevention and control centre in Nanyang has taken on the task to carry out testing the coronavirus nucleic acid of the samples collected from local designated hospitals, conduct epidemic monitoring and statistical analysis.

China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba has launched an online platform for direct procurement of worldwide medical supplies to meet the urgent demand in fighting the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The platform strives to efficiently match the supply with the rising demand in regions hit hard by the epidemic, especially hospitals. Trading firms and manufacturers of medical supplies around the world can publish their supply information on the platform so that Alibaba will purchase directly from them and ship the products to the front lines.

Emergency supplies such as masks, protective suits, goggles and gloves are still urgently needed in China, said Alibaba. It also published a letter to convey gratitude to donors from home and abroad.

The company said information on the platform is transparent and will be efficiently matched to ensure the smooth and safe delivery of emergency supplies to medical workers. Alibaba has also cooperated with global logistics firms to offer faster delivery solutions across countries and regions.

On January 25, the tech giant set up a special fund of 1 billion yuan (about US$144 million) for medical supplies to counter the epidemic.

As of Monday, Alibaba has shipped the supplies including donations to 18 hospitals in three provinces including hard-hit Hubei.

It is a priority to protect Chinese and foreigners living in China from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), Chinese Ambassador to Tunisia Wang Wenbin told a Press conference here on Tuesday.

“Preventing and controlling the spread of this epidemic and protecting Chinese and foreigners living in China remain a priority for the Chinese government and people,” Wang told representatives of local and foreign media.

“The life and health of the Chinese people are of major and vital importance, as well as members of foreign communities and diplomatic bodies established in China,” he said.

Wang affirmed that since the outbreak of 2019-nCoV, China has taken the strictest preventive measures to prevent its spread inside and outside China, and China remains increasingly confident of victory over the epidemic.

State leaders and heads of international organisations recently expressed their support for China’s battle against the novel coronavirus and commended its measures in preventing and controlling the epidemic.

l Pakistani President Arif Alvi said China’s effective measures against the outbreak have been widely recognised by the international community, expressing confidence that the Chinese, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, will definitely overcome the challenge.

l Myanmar President U Win Myint said he believed the Chinese, in a united and cooperative spirit and under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, will successfully control the spread of the epidemic.

l Expressing his gratitude for China’s efforts to guarantee the safety of Cambodians in China, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said his country will stand with China through thick and thin and the two will overcome the epidemic together.

l Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said his country stands firmly with China.

l Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said the island state highly appreciates the openness, transparency and responsibility that China has shown in the battle against the epidemic.

l President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said his country appreciates and supports China’s decisive measures to prevent and control the epidemic outbreak. He hopes Kazakhstan and China can strengthen coordination and overcome the common threat as early as possible.

l Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov thanked the country for taking good care of the Kyrgyz nationals in China and expected China to defeat the epidemic at an early date.

l Tajik President Emomali Rahmon wished all patients infected with the coronavirus a quick recovery and expressed confidence that the measures taken by the Chinese leadership and the government to contain the outbreak will achieve its anticipated outcome.

l Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said his country was willing to work with China to tackle the epidemic.

l Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said the Azerbaijani people stand united with the Chinese people and his country is willing to provide all necessary assistance to China.

l Italian President Sergio Mattarella wished those who contracted the virus a quick recovery. Italy stands ready to provide China with all forms of support that are conducive to dealing with the epidemic, he said.

l Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country highly appreciates China’s quick and decisive measures. The bravery and solidarity manifested by the Chinese people have won respect from around the world, including in Poland, he said.

l Czech President Milos Zeman said his country stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Chinese people to combat the epidemic and will provide aid within its capacity to the Chinese side.

l Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said she believes the Chinese side can get the epidemic under control soon, and that the Croatian people stand ready with the people of China.

l Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia highly appreciates the national strength that China has displayed while encountering a daunting challenge. He firmly believes that China, under the leadership of President Xi, will conquer the epidemic.

l Maltese President George Vella said the Maltese people will go all out to support the Chinese government in fighting the epidemic.

l Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said the Egyptian government and people will staunchly support China. He believes that China is capable of defeating the epidemic quickly. The Egyptian side will spare no effort to support China.

l Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said China winning the battle against the coronavirus is just a question of time.

l President of Guinea Alpha Conde said his country will always remember the precious assistance and selfless help that China offered while Guinea was combating the outbreak of Ebola virus. He believes that the Chinese people will defeat the epidemic.

l President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said China’s strong ability to mobilize and its open and transparent attitude to the international community means there’s hope of completely controlling the epidemic.

l President of Seychelles Danny Faure said his country appreciates the triumphalism and strength of the Chinese government and people in face of the epidemic as well as China’s commitment and efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.