A resident gives a thumbs up at the waiting area of a Community Vaccination Centre set up in the Exhibition Gallery of the Hong Kong Central Library, on Feb 23, 2021. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - Nearly 230,000 Hong Kong residents had made reservations to get inoculated against COVID-19 as the city reported 14 new infections on Monday.

In a statement, the government said a total of over 157,000 persons had reserved online their first and second doses under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme as of 8 pm Monday. Since Feb 23, a cumulative total of over 228,000 persons have made reservations for vaccination.

The government also said a total of about 6,400 persons received their first dose on Monday. A total of over 27,000 persons had been inoculated since Feb 22.

In a separate statement, the government also said residents in the priority groups can make online bookings to receive the Comirnaty vaccine from March 3.

It said reservations to receive the jab at seven community vaccination centres operated by the Hospital Authority can be made through the online booking system from March 10 to 30.

Earlier on Monday, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen also said residents will be able to sign up for BioNtech-Fosun coronavirus vaccine shots starting March 3. 

A total of more than 140,000 BioNTech-Fosun shots are available from March 10 to 30 at seven community inoculation centers, Nip said at a briefing.

A total of more than 140,000 BioNTech-Fosun shots are available from March 10 to 30 at seven community inoculation centers, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said

More than 270,000 Sinovac jabs are also available from March 12 to 28 at eight community inoculation centers and 18 general out-patient clinics, Nip said.

ALSO READ: More than 13,000 vaccinated in Hong Kong against COVID-19

Both BioNtech and Sinovac vaccines are currently accessible only to five prioritized groups of people, including health workers, people aged 60 or above, care home employees and residents, people providing essential services such as cleaners and disciplinary service officers and those whose work related to cross-boundary services.

More than 20,000 residents had received their first Sinovac shots as of Sunday. The five groups encompass about 2.4 million people.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said the new cases on Monday included three imported infections and 11 local cases, pushing the city’s overall tally to 11,019.

The new infections included five cases that were untraceable, the CHP said in a statement. 

ALSO READ: HK rolls out mass coronavirus vaccination program

The five untraceable cases involved a 23-year-old male cashier, a 54-year-old female secretary, a 30-year-old male part-time teacher, a 41-year-old male security guard, and a 36-year-old camera repair technician.

A 79-year-old man, who had chronic illnesses and was hospitalized on Jan 23, died from the coronavirus on Sunday night, Princess Margaret Hospital said in a statement. He was the city’s 200th COVID-19-related fatality.

The cluster at a restaurant inside K11 MUSEA shopping center located in the Tsim Sha Tsui saw four new patients on Monday, bringing the total of confirmed patients in the group to 48, according to Ronald Lam, controller of the CHP.

The 48 patients included 22 diners, nine workers and their 17 close contacts. Three employees of other stores at K11 MUSEA also tested positive but were classified as untraceable cases.

New World Development, the owner of the mall, said in a notice on Monday morning that the shopping center would be closed until Friday for a thorough disinfection and for staff members to undergo a second round of tests for COVID-19. 

There was also another patient linked to the outbreak who tested preliminarily positive, Lam told reporters after inspecting Mr Ming’s Chinese Dining together with government health advisor Yuen Kwok-yung and deputy health chief Chui Tak-yi.

"Fifteen diners who visited the restaurant (on Feb 19) are still out of contact. It’s very concerning. We appeal to them to contact us as soon as possible,” Lam said, adding that there have been more than 400 close contacts under quarantine.

The source of the outbreak is believed to be a restaurant worker who spread the virus among colleagues and diners. Yuen said there could be short-distance transmissions by air inside the restaurant. 

The outbreak could have also started in the restaurant’s pantry room because the first patient shared the room with fellow workers while used and clean tableware were stored together there, Yuen said.

At the same ambush briefing, Chui said the city’s current social distancing rules, which were set to expire on Thursday, would be extended until March 17. The measures include a ban on public gatherings of more than four people, a ban on in-house dining after 10 pm and the closure of some leisure venues like bars. 

READ MORE: Lam gets vaccinated as HK sees 16 new COVID-19 cases

The government also said a voluntary weekly testing program for certain airport staff target groups will start on March 5, while the ongoing free testing services for all other airport staff will continue.

The one-off compulsory testing program for airport staff implemented by the Airport Authority was completed on Feb 25, the government said in a statement.

From Feb 4 to 25, over 87,000 airport staff members underwent polymerase chain reaction-based nucleic acid testing for COVID-19. No positive cases were recorded among those tested, the government added.