BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Beijing reported one new confirmed COVID-19 case from 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, local health authorities announced at a press briefing.

A staff member disinfects the Xinfadi bus station in Beijing, China, July 27, 2020. (Photo: VCG)

The new case, a 48-year-old woman, was a close contact of an imported COVID-19 case reported on Monday, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of Beijing's center for disease control and prevention, told reporters. Forty-three close contacts of the new case have been initially traced.

The woman, a native of north China's Hebei Province, lived in the same hotel in Chaoyang District as the imported COVID-19 case. She was put under isolated medical observation on Tuesday when she tested negative for coronavirus. Another nucleic acid test on Thursday, however, turned out to be a positive result.

The woman was then rushed to the designated Beijing Ditan Hospital where she was diagnosed as a confirmed, but mild COVID-19 case.

Authorities have disinfected her workplace and living place and taken related control measures to prevent further infections.