The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Saturday logged six COVID-19 cases, all from overseas, which is the first time the city has had no local transmission in four months, according to health authorities. 

The encouraging news came the same day as Chief Executive Carrie Lam summed up the government's efforts in fighting against the epidemic for 14 months. 

In a statement published on social media, Lam said it is gratifying that the government has successfully contained the spread of virus in a short period of time with the number of cases quickly coming down to low levels in recent days, without needing to close any of the re-opened businesses and premises.

She noted that about 430,000 people have received at least the first dose of vaccine, accounting for 6.6 percent of persons aged 16 or above who are eligible for vaccination, as of March 26 night.

To encourage more people to get vaccinated as early as possible, Lam – together with the Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaus as well as members of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council, who have already received two doses of Sinovac vaccine – reassured the public that there is no direct causal association between serious adverse events following vaccination and the administering of vaccines so far.

Lam also said the government has been actively studying whether social distancing measures can be further adjusted if a certain number of people are vaccinated, and will discuss with other regions whether it can mutually provide travel convenience to vaccinated tourists.