As of Monday evening, about 553,000 people have successfully registered for the Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) in Hong Kong, which starts Tuesday, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said.

Among the 141 community testing centers, nearly 70 percent, or 97 sites, have been fully booked on the first day of the UCTP, and 14 such centers have been fully booked for the period between Sept. 1 to 7, according to an announcement released by the government.

To identify asymptomatic COVID-19 patients and cut the transmission chain in the community, the HKSAR government launched the week-long UCTP with the support from the central government. It also said it will closely monitor the booking situation and the operation of the programme to consider whether to extend the programme for another no more than seven days