A view of a coronavirus testing center at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong, Sept 1, 2020. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported 12 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as the city's Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) kicked off with at least 82,000 residents availing of the free coronavirus tests. 

Speaking at a media briefing, a Centre for Health Protection (CHP) official said the 12 new infections included nine locally transmitted cases, pushing the city’s overall tally to 4,822.

As of 4 pm, 82,000 had been tested as Hong Kong’s Universal Community Testing Programme kicked off

Although Tuesday’s daily count is one of the lowest increases in the city’s third wave of infections, there was still one case with an unknown source. The case involved a 64-year-old man who lived in Yuen Long and worked at a construction site in Discovery Bay, the CHP official said.

READ MORE: HK CE says test 'safe, simple, convenient and fast'

According to the Hospital Authority, a 66-year-old woman died in Tuen Mun Hospital on Tuesday, becoming the city’s 90th COVID-related fatality.

Fewer than 10 people also tested preliminarily positive for the coronavirus.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said at a press conference that 651,000 residents had signed up for the free coronavirus testing as of 5 pm Tuesday.

He added that, as of 4 pm, 82,000 had been tested under the UCTP, including 74,000 who had appointments and 8,000 who were walk-in cases. 

Nip said the testing centers would try to accommodate everyone but he urged members of the public to register online to avoid crowding. Around 2,000 healthcare professionals and 2,400 administrative staff assisted in the testing on Tuesday. 

ALSO READ: HKSAR CE slams lawmakers questioning universal testing

The collected samples were sent to the BGI Huo-Yan Laboratory in Sai Wan for testing. The CHP will retest any positive result for confirmation and the confirmed results could be out as early as Thursday, Nip said.

He called on the members of the public to register as soon as possible to help identify any previously undetected transmission chain in the community, so that the city could resume normal life and social activities as soon as possible.

Also at the press conference, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said she hoped that the public would have more confidence in and a  clearer understanding of the testing program after seeing how smoothly it went on the first day.

A Hong Kong resident surnamed Wong said she did not worry about privacy leakage as the government has adopted enough precautions. 

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has said the personal information of participants will not be transferred out of Hong Kong and will be destroyed a month after the program ends. 

"Taking the test is responsible for both me and other people," Wong said.

Chen Dong, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, took the test along with other staff members of the liaison office on Tuesday. He said universal testing has proved to be an effective means to cut the transmission chain according to the anti-epidemic experience of both the mainland and overseas.

With inputs from Xinhua