Hong Kong on Monday evening completed its mass COVID-19 screening program launched two weeks ago, with the participation of some 1.78 million residents in total. Most of the specimens collected under the Universal Community Testing Program, nearly 1.72 million, had been tested by 8:00 p.m. on Monday, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said in a statement. The program was aimed at identifying asymptomatic patients and cutting invisible transmission chains as Hong Kong faced the third round of epidemic outbreak starting early July. As Hong Kong lagged behind in testing capacity, the central government acted swiftly to offer enormous support in medical resources and experts. Hong Kong reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the tally of confirmed cases to 4,971.
