Photo taken on July 8, 2021 shows a view of Tamar Park in Hong Kong. (WU XIAOCHU/XINHUA)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported Friday four new imported COVID-19 cases and removed five cases from the city's infection tally after a review concluded that the samples were contaminated by vaccine strain.

The revision took Hong Kong's tally to 12,112. 

All of Friday's new cases involved four women, aged between 32 to 45, who had traveled to Hong Kong from the Philippines, the Centre for Health Protection said

In a statement, a spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said the genetic analysis of the specimens from the five cases revealed that they were compatible with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine strain. 

One of the cases had received a COVID-19 vaccine at a Community Vaccination Centre prior to testing, while the other four cases had visited the same private clinic which provides COVID-19 vaccination. 

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The five patients were all found to have negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antibody results after they were admitted to hospital. 

After examining the clinical, epidemiological and laboratory findings, the CHP concluded that the five cases were compatible with vaccine strain contamination.

All of Friday's new cases involved four women, aged between 32 and 45, who had traveled to Hong Kong from the Philippines, the CHP said.

One of the new patients, 32, received two doses of the Sinovac shot in Hong Kong on April 8 and May 6. She was asymptomatic.

Another two women, both 36, showed symptoms of the virus and had been fully vaccinated in Hong Kong with the Comirnaty vaccine. One of them received the two doses on April 8 and April 29, respectively, while the other patient got her shots on May 7 and May 28.

The last patient, 45, received two doses of the Sinovac shot in the Philippines on May 29 and June 26. She was also asymptomatic. 

A total of 66 cases have been reported from Aug 20 to Sept 2, all of which were imported, the CHP said.

READ MORE: HK sees one new imported COVID-19 case, tally at 12,113