This photo shows people walking as a man rides a bike on a pathway in Hong Kong on March 3, 2021. (LO PING FAI / XINHUA)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported nine new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the lowest single-day rise since Feb 18, pushing the city’s tally to 11,055.

Six of the fresh infections were locally transmitted while three arrivals from the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan were diagnosed as infected, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, told reporters.

There were fewer than 10 preliminarily positive cases recorded on Thursday, at least four of which remained untraceable, according to Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch 

Thursday's sole untraceable case involved a 69-year-old man, a resident of Ching Moon House at Tin Ching Estate in Tin Shui Wai. He works as a security guard at Hung Fuk House in Sham Shui Po, Chuang said. Both buildings would be issued mandatory testing orders.

There were fewer than 10 preliminarily positive cases recorded on Thursday, at least four of which remained untraceable, according to Chuang. 

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The city recorded its 201st coronavirus-related fatality at 7:07 pm on Wednesday. The 78-year-old chronically ill man had been admitted on Jan 17, the Hospital Authority said in a statement.

Two fresh infections were linked to a 68-year-old man living in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology staff quarters. Another patient is the colleague of an infected employee of a Cartier outlet at K11 Musea shopping mall, Chuang said.

The unreaceable preliminarily positive cases involve an 18-year-old university student, a 48-year-old office worker, a 37-year-old domestic helper and a 47-year-old officer who works at Labour Department offices in Cheung Sha Wan.

“There may be daily fluctuations. We cannot conclude from one or two days’ figures (whether local outbreaks have been contained),” Chuang said.

Speaking on a radio program on Thursday, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said some 1,350 private doctors were participating in the vaccination program and 880 had received Sinovac jabs from health authorities. More than 13,000 people had been inoculated so far at private clinics, he said.

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About 92 percent of residents who had booked Wednesday slots turned up to receive the shots, Nip said, undeterred by the news of a 63-year-old chronically ill man dying within a couple of days of taking the vaccine. He said 67 people were advised against vaccination on Wednesday.

According to the government, 256,000 bookings had been made for the Sinovac vaccine and 96,000 for the Fosun-BioNTech vaccine as of Wednesday.