People walk past a banner encouraging the public to take the COVID-19 vaccine in Hong Kong, Aug 15, 2021. (BERTHA WANG / AFP)

Hong Kong health authorities on Friday confirmed nine imported cases of COVID-19 infections, including eight involving mutant strains.

The mutation test result of another case is pending, the Centre for Health Protection said in a press release.

The infections of the nine – seven females and two males aged 3 to 68 – took the city’s tally to 12,286 since the outbreak of the pandemic in Hong Kong in January last year.

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Of them, one patient who tested positive on Thursday at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre is a close contact of an imported case confirmed previously. Four other cases tested positive during the "test-and-hold" arrangement upon arrival at the Temporary Specimen Collection Centre at Hong Kong International Airport while the remaining four tested positive during quarantine.

Two patients each came from Russia, India and the Philippines while one each from Canada, Egypt and the Maldives

Two patients each came from Russia, India and the Philippines while one each from Canada, Egypt and the Maldives. Six of them – those from India and the Philippines and one each from Russia and Canada – received were fully vaccinated.

In the past 14 days, 59 cases including a local case with unknown sources have been reported.

The Department of Health has prohibited the landing of passenger flights from Vancouver operated by Air Canada in Hong Kong for two weeks from Oct 16 as a passenger flight operated by the airline on Oct 13 had one passenger confirmed to have COVID-19 by arrival testing and one passenger failed to comply with relevant rules.

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Persons related to the following specified premises have been reminded to undergo compulsory testing in accordance with the compulsory testing notice on Oct 16:

- Jones Hive, 8 Jones Street, Causeway Bay

- Block C, Hankow Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui

- Tower 10, Phase 3 - The Graces, Providence Bay, Tai Po