Hong Kong reports 26 new COVID-19 cases

Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam attends a press conference in Hong Kong, south China, Jan. 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

HONG KONG, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong reported 26 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours on Saturday, taking the total tally to 13,146, according to data from the Center for Health Protection.

The newly reported cases consist of one imported case, 19 cases epidemiologically linked with imported cases, three local cases, and three cases epidemiologically linked with local cases.

Twenty-five of the cases involve mutant strains, and the mutation test result of one case is pending, the center said.

Meanwhile, the whole genome sequencing analysis of 11 cases announced earlier confirmed they all carried the Omicron variant of COVID-19, bringing the total number of Omicron infections to 517 in Hong Kong.

Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, told a press conference Saturday that Hong Kong residents should avoid unnecessary gatherings recently, and those who have not been vaccinated should get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Since the launch of a mass inoculation program in February 2021, about 5.23 million people, or 77.7 percent of the eligible population, have taken at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, while about 4.74 million, or 70.5 percent of the eligible population, have taken two doses.

Meanwhile, 776,322 people in Hong Kong have taken the third booster shot as of 8:00 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) Saturday.