HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) has been extended by four days to Sept 11, the government said Friday, as the city reported 12 new COVID-19 cases. 

During Sept 8 to 11, 122 out of the 141 swab collection centers will remain open, said Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip

The announcement by Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen came a day after the citywide exercise uncovered six positive COVID-19 results. The exercise, launched on Sept 1, was initially slated to end on Sept 7.

During Sept 8 to 11, 122 out of the 141 swab collection centers will remain open, Nip told reporters. 

He said health authorities may further extend the program if necessary but it will be wrapped up within 14 days.

As of 8 pm Friday, some 953,000 people had registered online for tests, while around 656,000 had been tested.

READ MORE: 6 positive cases indicate HK testing may uncover more

A staff member (left) gestures to people waiting in a queue at a COVID-19 coronavirus testing centre in Hong Kong on Sept 1, 2020. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)

Four out of the 12 new COVID-19 cases reported on Friday were identified in the massive testing program.

The four patients found during free testing included one 63-year-old man and three women, aged 22, 46 and 67, respectively. The infections of the man and the 22-year-old woman were unveiled on Thursday and counted in Friday's tally. All four cases have no known origin.

Four out of the 12 new COVID-19 cases reported on Friday were identified in the massive testing program

Meanwhile, one more patient was linked to Metropark Hotel Mongkok and another tested preliminarily positive. 

Friday’s new cases also included five imported cases, involving travelers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, and India. The city’s infection tally stood at 4,850.

To assist with the massive testing efforts, as many as 200 mainland doctors and nurses arrived in Hong Kong from southern China’s Guangxi and Fujian provinces on Thursday. This is the third batch of mainland medical professionals to arrive in the city to help with UCTP. Hong Kong is currently hosting around 420 mainland medical professionals deployed to help the special administrative region fight the virus.

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"Although the confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been gradually reduced recently, the epidemic has yet to be stabilised and there are still silent transmission chains in the community. The HKSAR Government is very grateful to the support team for their valuable advice on the UCTP, which can help us to identify asymptomatic patients and further curb the epidemic," a government spokesman said in a press release.