Hong Kong reports no new local infection of COVID-19

HONG KONG, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong reported no new local infection of COVID-19 on Sunday, indicating the epidemic being largely curbed, while a senior official still warned of the risk of a highly transmissible mutant strain and urged the public to follow anti-epidemic rules.

Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection said there was only one imported case on Sunday, taking the total tally in the financial hub to 11,807.

Despite the low daily increase, Matthew Cheung, chief secretary for administration, stressed on Sunday in an online article the necessity of stringent efforts to cut the transmission chains of the N501Y mutant strain to prevent a mass outbreak in the communities.

Cases involving foreign domestic workers who contracted the N501Y were reported in Hong Kong recently, stoking fear for another round of the outbreak.

The government has taken decisive action to stop the spread, including virus tests for domestic helpers. More than 280,000 domestic workers had received the tests by Friday and another 50,000 would undergo the virus screen this weekend.

Cheung called the COVID-19 fight a top priority in Hong Kong and urged residents to continue to follow control measures, including social distancing, and take the vaccines as early as possible.

Two people were arrested on Saturday for giving false or misleading information or failing to give information as required by officers during epidemiological investigations of COVID-19 cases.

The vaccination program launched by the government is ongoing in Hong Kong. Some 1.7 million vaccine doses have been administered here, with 648,900 people fully vaccinated.