Gov't official appeals to public for vaccination in HK, 6 imported COVID-19 cases recorded

HONG KONG, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Secretary for the Civil Service of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government Patrick Nip Thursday went to Sham Shui Po, Wan Chai and Wong Tai Sin to appeal to the public, in particular the elderly, to receive vaccination for better self-protection.

"Given the threat posed by mutant strains, vaccination is the best way for people to protect themselves," Nip said.

"Persons who are suitable for COVID-19 vaccination should get vaccinated as early as possible to reduce their risk of falling seriously ill and dying should they get infected."

Hong Kong's vaccination drive is making steady progress. Since the launch of the government inoculation program in late February, around 4.57 million people, or 67.9 percent of the eligible population, have taken at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccines, while around 4.35 million have been fully vaccinated.

Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported six new imported cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, taking the total tally to 12,311.

Four of the cases were found to carry mutant strains while the viral load of one case is insufficient for a mutation test, and the mutation test result of the remaining case is pending, the CHP said.

A total of 62 cases have been reported in the past 14 days, including one untraceable local case, while the rest are imported, according to the CHP.