HONG KONG, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported 26 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, taking its total tally to 10,693.

File photo: CFP

The new cases included 19 local infections, of which five had an unknown origin. The five imported cases of the newly reported infections were from Indonesia and India. There were also about 20 cases testing positive preliminarily, according to a CHP press briefing.

Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said on Tuesday that the fourth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong has obviously eased. Compared with the peak when more than 600 confirmed cases were reported each week in the past two months, the number of newly confirmed cases in the last seven days has dropped nearly 70 percent.

She said if the epidemic situation does not worsen, there will be conditions to gradually resume normal life after the Chinese New Year, including the resumption of face-to-face classes in schools and the reopening of some of the business premises that have been closed for a long time.

According to Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, 474 COVID-19 patients are currently being treated in public hospitals and the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo, and 24 patients are in critical condition.

A total of 181 COVID-19 confirmed patients have passed away in public hospitals so far.