A pedestrian walks past an orange cordon around a building which has been locked due to an isolation order from the Department of Health, as a vendor (center) waits for customers at her still open fresh produce store, following a spike in COVID-19 coronavirus cases within the Jordan district of Kowloon in Hong Kong on January 20, 2021. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported 70 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, including 63 local infections, bringing the city’s overall tally to 9,867.

Thursday's figure was slightly lower than the 77 infections recorded on Wednesday. 

Of the 63 new patients who contracted the virus locally, 31 were residents of Yau Tsim Mong district, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said at a press briefing. 

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said more than 40 people tested preliminarily positive, including 11 who were discovered by testing stations set up in Yau Ma Tei

Sixteen of the new infections were untraceable, she added.

Chuang also said more than 40 people tested preliminarily positive, including 11 who were discovered by testing stations set up in Yau Ma Tei.

ALSO READ: 37 untraceable cases among 77 new COVID-19 infections in HK

Among those who tested preliminarily positive was an 80-year-old man who lived at an elderly care home inside Sheung On Mansion in Jordan, Chuang said. 

Six workers and 21 residents there were categorized as close contacts and would be quarantined, she added.

A 74-year-old woman with chronic diseases, who was hospitalized on Jan 10, succumbed to the virus in the early hours of Thursday, the Hospital Authority said in a statement. She was the city’s 167th coronavirus-related fatality.

Meanwhile, travelers entering the Chinese mainland from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region via the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint will be diverted to Shenzhen’s nearby cities, including Dongguan, Huizhou, Shanwei and Zhongshan, the Guangdong provincial government said on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Mandatory testing for thousands in Yau Tsim Mong district

Currently, up to 2,000 people per day are allowed to travel across Shenzhen Bay to the mainland, provided that they book a quarantine hotel in advance and hold a negative test result issued within 24 hours before crossing the border.