HK extends virus testing until Monday, 6 new cases reported

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's universal coronavirus testing program, offered free to all residents, will be extended by three days until Monday as the city reported six new virus cases on Wednesday.

During the three-day extension of the Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) starting Saturday, 57 of the 141 sample collection stations will continue their operations, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said at a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon.

As of 2 pm on Wednesday, more than 1.36 million people went to testing centers across the city to have their swab samples taken while over 1.26 million registered online for the UCTP.

A total of 18 people had been found infected by the coronavirus through the free testing program.

About 45 percent of the 52,000 people who visited testing centers between 8 am and 1:30 pm on Wednesday were walk-ins, a significant increase from previous days, according to Nip.

More than 500 medical professionals from the mainland are currently helping with lab testing in Hong Kong, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said.

In a separate press briefing, health officials said Hong Kong had six new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, or the same number as that of Tuesday, when the city recorded its lowest single-day increase since the third wave of infections began in early July.

The city's cumulative tally stood at 4,901, a Centre for Health Protection (CHP) official said.

Five of Wednesday's new cases were local infections, including one that was discovered through the UCTP. The patient, a 62-year-old man living in Tuen Mun, was asymptomatic, the CHP official said.

The four other local cases included two family members of previously confirmed patients who worked at Transport City Building, where an infection cluster of 13 patients has been detected. The sole new imported case was from India, the official added.

The CHP official also said that more than 10 people tested preliminarily positive for the virus on Wednesday.