Hundreds of people crowd into a lane as they shop at the Mongkok Flower Market ahead of the Lunar New Year in Hong Kong on Jan 29, 2022, which ushers in the Year of the Tiger on Feb 1. (MLADEN ANTONOV / AFP)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong recorded 81 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 77 local infections, bringing the city’s tally to 14,106.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said at a briefing that 15 local cases were of unknown sources while around 70 patients tested preliminarily positive for the coronavirus.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said at a briefing that 15 local cases were of unknown sources while around 70 patients tested preliminarily positive for the virus  

“Many of them had cross-family gatherings on the 23rd. The Lunar New Year is just around the corner. If there are cross-family gatherings, there might be transmissions,” Chuang said.

Chuang said that in at least two recent gatherings, up to 10 members got infected with the virus. 

“I understand many families would like to gather together and enjoy the festival..I would like to alert them be careful. especially if there are elderly who have not been vaccinated,” she added.    

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Chuang said the unlinked cases included four suspected Delta infections, 10 suspected Omicron cases, and one case with test results still pending.

In a statement, the Customs and Excise Department said a Senior Customs Officer has preliminarily tested positive for the COVID-19 on Sunday. 

The patient, who lives in On Kwai House, Kwai Fuk Court, Kwai Chung, was posted at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point and mainly performed cargo clearance duties. He last came to work on Jan 21. 

“He has no travel history in the past 14 days and has been wearing surgical masks when performing duties. Being under medical treatment in hospital, the officer is in stable condition,” the statement reads.

The department said the patient’s working area was disinfected while arrangements were made for the testing of all departmental staff who might have had contact with the officer.

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 In a separate statement, a government spokesman said making general remarks and discussion about the fight against the pandemic is not illegal, adding that dynamic "zero infection" is the most effective way to protect public health.

The spokesman issued the statement  in response to media enquiries on whether discussions on the effectiveness of the "zero infection" target would violate the National Security Law for Hong Kong.

The SAR must cut the transmission chains as quickly as possible, with an aim of achieving dynamic "zero infection", otherwise the consequences could be dire, the spokesman said.

He also urged those who have yet to get their vaccine shots, particularly the elderly to get vaccinated, noting that,  as at January 29, the rate of those who have received the first jab was less than 80 per cent.

Currently, some 500 000 elderly people aged 70 or above still have not yet received their first dose of vaccine, the spokesman added.