Hong Kong reports 5 new COVID-19 cases

HONG KONG, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong on Saturday reported five new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, taking the total tally of cases tested positive to 13,030, according to data from the Center for Health Protection (CHP).

The newly reported cases consist of three imported cases and two cases epidemiologically linked with the imported cases.

Since Jan. 1, Hong Kong has recorded 171 asymptomatic cases, and 375 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the past 14 days.

Meanwhile, the whole genome sequencing analysis of 17 cases announced earlier showed they all carried the Omicron variant of COVID-19, bringing the total number of Omicron infections to 413 in Hong Kong.

Since the launch of a mass inoculation program in February 2021, more than 5.1 million people, or 75.8 percent of the eligible population, have taken at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, while more than 4.71 million, or 70 percent of the eligible population, have taken two doses.

Meanwhile, 626,535 people in Hong Kong have taken a booster shot as of Saturday.