HONG KONG - Hong Kong recorded its lowest number of cases since July 3 with just nine new patients but authorities warned that there was still a long way to go. 

Two cases were imported - a student and a domestic worker from the Philippines. Of the seven local cases, the authorities have not been able to establish how four people got the infection. About 10 other people have tested preliminarily positive.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said online registration for the universal COVID-19 test scheme will open by the end of this week

The new infections raised the tally of confirmed cases to 4,691, with 77 deaths.

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“The outbreak is not entirely under control yet,” Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said, replying to a reporter's query.

Chuang believes the upcoming universal screening will help identify unknown sources and cut transmission chains of the virus.

Given a resurgence of COVID-19 cases since early July, Hong Kong adopted stringent social distancing measures, such as closures of entertainment venues and a ban on dining-in services of restaurants in the evening, and toughened up restrictions over inbound visitors.

More than 500 people still remain hospitalized, including 27 in critical condition, according to the CHP.

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Earlier in the day, speaking on a radio programme, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said online registration for the universal COVID-19 test scheme will open by the end of this week. Testing is free for all Hong Kong residents.

Nip said that people can make an appointment with a preferred testing station of 100 across the city at a specific date and time. The testing will run from 8 am to 8 pm.

Nip said that as long as people own a Hong Kong ID card and display no symptoms, then they can take part in the testing scheme, and foreign domestic helpers will also be allowed to be tested.

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If their sample yields a negative result, the individual will be notified via SMS.

Nip stressed that people's samples and information will stay in Hong Kong, and their personal details will be encrypted before they are destroyed a month after the tests are done.

The universal testing drive will begin from Sept 1 and is expected to last two weeks.

With inputs from Xinhua