HONG KONG, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Matthew Cheung, chief secretary for administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said on Sunday that the number of COVID-19 cases might rebound after holidays even though there's been a decline in cases recently.

In his weekly blog article, Cheung said the HKSAR government is doing whatever it could to curb the pandemic and achieve "zero increase" in new cases as soon as possible.

He also said that the government is striving for the early supply of vaccines, and urged all Hong Kong residents to take the jabs actively.

Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported 41 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, taking its tally to 8,964.

The new cases included 40 local infections, with 16 cases of unknown origin.

According to Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, 733 COVID-19 patients are currently being treated in public hospitals and the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo, and 49 patients are in critical condition.