HONG KONG, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) said on Wednesday that the gene sequencing analysis of samples of two COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong matched with those of the mutant strain found in Britain.

The two cases involved two students who had arrived from Britain, according to a CHP press briefing.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, Head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the CHP, said at the press briefing that one of the students has recovered and been discharged from hospital and the other one was still receiving treatment in hospital.

She said that local health authorities have arranged for close contacts of these patients to be quarantined.

The CHP reported 53 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking its total tally to 8,353.

The new confirmed cases included 47 local infections, with 20 cases of unknown origin. There were also over 40 preliminary cases.

According to Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, currently, 1,026 COVID-19 patients are being treated in public hospitals and the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo, and 65 patients are in critical condition.