HONG KONG, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported nine additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, taking its total tally to 11,099.

The new cases included six local infections, of which four had an unknown origin. The three imported cases were from the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines and Pakistan, according to the CHP.

Hong Kong's Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunisation convened a meeting on Monday to assess the suspected serious adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination including one death case and two cases admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of the public hospitals.

The committee preliminarily considered that the events and the vaccination did not have direct causal association.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government announced on Monday that the priority vaccination arrangement under the territory-wide free COVID-19 vaccination program will be expanded to cover more high-exposure groups including staff of catering and retail businesses, transportation drivers, construction site workers and teachers.

Five groups of people, including healthcare staff, elderly people and people providing essential public services, were given priority for vaccination when the program was first launched.

Since the launch of the program in late February, more than 93,000 people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines, Sophia Chan, secretary for food and health of the HKSAR government, said at a press briefing.

The benefits of vaccination outweigh its risks, Chan said, urging the public to actively participate in the vaccination and help fight the epidemic.

According to Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, 221 COVID-19 patients are currently being treated in public hospitals, the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo, and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Center, among which 13 patients are in critical condition. Enditem

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