People wearing face masks walk along a street during the morning rush hour in Beijing, capital of China, Dec 30, 2020. (MARK SCHIEFELBEIN / AP)

BEIJING - The Chinese mainland has reported its first COVID-19 case caused by the new, significantly more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus that was found in the recent outbreak in the United Kingdom, according to research published on Wednesday.

A report on the research was published online by the China CDC Weekly, an academic platform set up by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The mild case, a 23-year-old female student who recently returned to Shanghai from the UK by airplane, tested positive on Dec 14, according to a report. An investigation revealed that she had a negative test result two days before her flight

The mild case, a 23-year-old female student who recently returned to Shanghai from the UK by airplane, tested positive for the coronavirus on Dec 14, and was sent to a hospital in Shanghai that night for isolation, according to the report.

An epidemiological investigation revealed that the patient had a negative COVID-19 test result on Dec 12, two days before her flight to China. She described running in a park without wearing a mask and taking off her mask to eat and drink while waiting to board the plane, which could be when she was infected, according to the report.

The patient's sample was genetically sequenced on Dec 24, and the result showed that the strain was different from the previous Shanghai strain detected in November, suggesting a different route of transmission. Further studies confirmed the strain was the same as the variant that has been spreading since late October in the UK, according to the report.

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To minimize risks of the new virus strain spreading, authorities in Shanghai have taken a number of measures, including intensified tracing of close contacts of the patient. Comprehensive disinfection has been applied to specific venues associated with the patient, according to the report. 

9 local cases among 25 new

The mainland reported 25 new cases on Wednesday, of which nine were locally transmitted and 16 imported, the National Health Commission said Thursday.

Five of the local cases were reported in Liaoning province, and two each in Beijing and Heilongjiang, the commission said in its daily report.

Of the newly reported imported cases, six were posted in Shanghai, three each in Inner Mongolia and Guangdong, two in Sichuan, and one each in Fujian and Shaanxi, the National Health Commission said

Of the newly reported imported cases, six were posted in Shanghai, three each in Inner Mongolia and Guangdong, two in Sichuan, and one each in Fujian and Shaanxi, the commission said.

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Wednesday also saw eight new asymptomatic cases, of which four were imported. Meanwhile, five were re-categorized as confirmed cases. 

There were no new reports of suspected cases or deaths related to the disease, the commission said, adding that 13 more patients have recovered while there were 368 others still receiving treatment.

So far, the mainland has reported a total of 87,052 confirmed cases, of which 4,263 were imported. A total of 82,050 had recovered from the disease and 4,634 had died, according to the commission. 

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By the end of Wednesday, 8,778 confirmed cases, including 147 deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 46 cases in the Macao SAR, and 797 cases including seven deaths in Taiwan.

With Xinhua inputs