More test kits distributed in Hong Kong to trace COVID-19 through sewage surveillance

HONG KONG, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said on Friday that it will distribute 275,000 COVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits as part of a follow-up on the recent detection of the COVID-19 virus in sewage samples.

The test kits will be distributed to residents, cleaning workers and property management staff working in the areas with positive sewage testing results showing relatively high viral loads in order to help identify infected persons.

The HKSAR government also urged RAT kit users to report any positive results for COVID-19 via the government's online platform.

A total of 176,674 people in Hong Kong have taken a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines, official data showed Friday.

Since the start of a mass inoculation program in February last year, over 6.75 million people, or 92.8 percent of the eligible population in Hong Kong, have taken at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines, while nearly 6.49 million, or 89.1 percent of the eligible population, have taken two doses.

As of Friday, 65.7 percent of the eligible people in Hong Kong have taken their booster doses.

On Friday, Hong Kong registered 3,358 confirmed locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 and 216 imported cases, official data showed.