A man holds balloons at a wedding photo session while wearing a protective mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus at a park in Hong Kong, Jan 2, 2021. (VINCENT YU/AP)

HONG KONG  - Hong Kong reported 59 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the most since the beginning of this year, bringing the city's tally to 9,211.

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The new cases included 53 locally-transmitted infections, 20 of which were untraceable, said Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, at a media briefing.

A possible outbreak has been reported at the Central Kowloon Route construction site in Ma Tau Kok, with one of its workers having tested positive

Chuang said residents of two more buildings - Block 3 of Sun Yuen Long Centre and King Lai House at Shan King Estate in Tuen Mun - would be subject to mandatory testing.

A possible outbreak has been reported at the Central Kowloon Route construction site in Ma Tau Kok, with one of its workers having tested positive, Chuang said. Six other workers in the project tested preliminarily positive. They were working at the project sites in Ma Tau Kok and Ho Man Tin, respectively.

In a press release issued on Saturday, the Highways Department said it had suspended work at the Ma Tau Kok site for disinfection and will arrange COVID-19 testing for its contract workers.

The six imported cases reported on Saturday were from Pakistan, Russia, the Philippines and Indoneisa, said Chuang.

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One more patient died on Saturday, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the financial hub to 157.

The 71-year-old man with chronic diseases was admitted to Caritas Medical Centre due to hyperglycemia on Dec 17. He passed away at 2:45 am Saturday, a spokesperson for the center said in a press release.