An officer of the Hong Kong Police Force receives a dose of Sinovac coronavirus vaccine at a community vaccination centre in Hong Kong on Feb 23, 2021. (PAUL YEUNG / POOL / AFP)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor called on more Hong Kong residents, particularly the elderly, to get vaccinated against COVID-19, noting that over 80 percent of the city’s eligible population had received one vaccine dose as of Sunday.

In a social media post, Lam also said that more than a million Hong Kong residents have received their third jab against the coronavirus.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said to further increase the vaccination rate to 90 percent or above, the government will soon amend regulations to implement the "vaccination pass" arrangement, under which non-vaccinated persons will face restrictions on access to many premises and activities

In the past year, the government offered a sufficient supply of vaccines but some residents, especially the elderly, remained hesitant about getting a shot, Lam said.

She said clinical data clearly showed that non-vaccinated patients have a much higher chance of developing a severe illness than those who have been vaccinated.

Lam added that to further increase the vaccination rate to 90 percent or above, the government will soon amend regulations to implement the "vaccination pass" arrangement, under which non-vaccinated persons will face restrictions on access to many premises and activities.

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The details of the arrangement, set to begin on Feb 24, will be announced later this week, Lam said.

She added that the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile app has also been updated to facilitate checking of public vaccination records.

Meanwhile, targeted testing operations in Tuen Mun and Sha Tin detected 20 preliminary positive COVID-19 cases and two indeterminate cases.

In a statement issued on Monday morning, the government said 5,546 persons were tested at the “restricted area” that was set up at Hing Tai House, 2 Tai Hing Street, Tai Hing Estate, Tuen Mun. Fifteen preliminary positive cases were found while one was indeterminate.

The testing operation, which began Saturday night, was extended until today after an initial 11 preliminary cases were detected on Sunday.

The government cordoned off the building after sewage samples tested positive for the coronavirus.

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At 7:30 pm on Sunday, the government also set up a "restricted area" at Mei Sau House, Mei Tin Estate, Sha Tin due to positive sewage samples.

Around 1,890 people underwent compulsory testing and five of them tested preliminarily positive while the test results of one resident were indeterminate.

Government staff members visited 1,380 households in Hing Tai House but 95 did not answer the door. At Mei Sau House, 73 households did not reply. The government said it will take follow-up measures to ensure that they are also tested.