CHANGCHUN - The city of Shulan in Northeast China's Jilin province raised its emergency response level for COVID-19 after a new locally-transmitted case was reported on Thursday, said the provincial epidemic prevention and control office on Saturday.

The city upgraded its emergency response for the virus from the low-level risk to the medium-level risk after a local female was diagnosed with the virus on Thursday.

Eighteen people who have been in close contact with the woman have been put under medical observation in a local designated location.

The office said that efforts are underway to contain the spread of the virus by enhancing nucleic acid testing and quarantine measures.

Jilin had reported no new COVID-19 cases for 73 days before Thursday.