Hong Kong reports 8 new imported COVID-19 cases

HONG KONG, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported eight new imported cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, taking the total tally of confirmed cases to 12,526.

Seven of the cases involved mutant strains while the mutation test result of the remaining case is pending. The patients comprise five males and three females, aged 20 to 62.

A total of 66 cases have been reported in the past 14 days and all were imported, according to the CHP.

Since the launch of the government inoculation program in late February, about 4.83 million people, or 71.7 percent of the eligible population, have taken at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, while over 4.6 million people, or 68.4 percent, are fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, a total of 301,457 people in Hong Kong have taken their booster shot as of 8:00 p.m. local time Saturday.