Visitors wearing face masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus, walk on the High Island Reservoir East Dam, one of the most popular hiking trails in Hong Kong, Dec 26, 2020. (KING CHEUNG / AP)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong reported 70 new cases on Sunday, including 23 untraceable cases, bringing the city’s tally of confirmed cases to 8,610.

In a press briefing on Sunday afternoon, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Heath Protection (CHP) communicable disease branch, said the new infections included one imported case and 69 local infections.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Heath Protection (CHP) communicable disease branch, said the new infections included one imported case and 69 local infections

They included 34 males and 36 females aged eight months old to 92 years old. Also, about 50 persons tested preliminarily positive, she added.

Chuang said new infections included seven cases who were linked to the United Christian Hospital cluster, which also saw five workers and one patient testing preliminarily positive.

Chuang also said that a Vietnamese national who was detained at the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre (CIC) tested positive for COVID-19.

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She said they have yet to determine the source of the patient’s infection while two other detainees who spent time with the patient would be quarantined. 

According to the Hospital Authority, there were 901 patients being treated in 23 hospitals and the AsiaWorld-Expo community treatment center as of Sunday, including 55 patients in critical condition and 68 in serious condition. 

Meanwhile, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) stepped up stringent enforcement actions relating to anti-pandemic regulations during the Christmas period. 

In a statement, the FEHD said it conducted joint operations with the police in Wan Chai, Islands, Yau Tsim, Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong on December 26. 

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A total of 133 catering premises and three other premises were inspected during the joint operations, while 613 catering premises were inspected by the FEHD on its own. 

The FEHD said it decided to prosecute five catering business operators suspected of breaching anti-pandemic regulations.

It said one provided dine-in services after 6pm, two violated the rules on the distance or partition between tables, one failed to observe mask-wearing rules, and another one failed to  properly display the poster containing the "LeaveHomeSafe" venue QR code. 

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An FEHD spokesman reminded catering business and and the public to exercise self-discipline and co-operate to fight the virus together.