A man walks along the Central business district in Hong Kong on Sept 8, 2021. (KIN CHEUNG / AP)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported eight new imported COVID-19 cases on Thursday as it banned Nepal Airlines flights from Kathmandu.

The new patients included three men and a woman from Pakistan, three men from Nepal, and a woman from the Philippines. The city’s tally stood at 12,251, the Centre for Health Protection said in a statement.

The Department of Health decided to ban Nepal Airlines flights from Kathmandu from October 7 to 20 after three passengers in one recent flight tested positive for the virus

Except for the woman from Pakistan, all the other patients had no COVID-19 symptoms, it added.  

The CHP also said that the Department of Health decided to ban Nepal Airlines flights from Kathmandu from October 7 to 20.

ALSO READ: HK overtakes US in COVID-19 vaccinations, sees 5 new cases

The DH made the decision after three passengers on a Nepal Airlines flight on October 5 tested positive for the virus when they arrived in Hong Kong.   

The CHP added that a total of 76 cases were reported in the city from September 23 to October 6, all of them imported.  

The Hospital Authority said there were 53 COVID-19 patients being treated as of Thursday in nine public hospitals and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre, and all of them are in stable condition.