“[We] cannot foresee the exact trend of the PCR and RAT cases. Hopefully it will continue to be a decreasing trend,” she said. “There has been an increase in the number of positive RAT results reported online, but it’s not a huge jump.”

Chuang noted that cases discovered using RAT and PCR tests should both be decreasing, given previous trends, but infections uncovered using the former exceeded those found through the latter on Friday.

“This reflects the participation of the public in using rapid tests,” she added.

Among the positive RAT results on Friday, 1,592 were reported via the government’s dedicated website and the rest were submitted by care homes for the elderly through another platform and by residents who called authorities directly.

Hong Kong launched the three-day voluntary RAT exercise on Friday to cut off hidden transmission chains in the community and urged residents to test themselves over three days using kits distributed by the government.

About 3.1 million kits have been distributed to 2.7 million households, while an additional 92,000 packs and 270,000 RAT kits have been picked up at 89 collection points across the city.

Chuang reminded the public that the online self-reporting system was only for logging positive RAT results.

“We have also realised that some people have reported their negative RAT result on the online platform,” she said. “There is no need to report negative results.”

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor earlier said at her regular Covid-19 press briefing that more infections uncovered through RAT screening would mean a lower number of hidden cases, a trend in line with dwindling numbers found through compulsory tests during building lockdowns.

“If the infection trend keeps coming down, social-distancing restrictions will be eased and school classes will resume from late April gradually as planned,” she said.

Schools are expected to resume classes in phases from mid-April, and Lam said the move would take into consideration factors such as the number of daily coronavirus cases and vaccination rates among children.

“We need to consider a host of factors. If we continue to suspend classes, it will do harm to children,” Lam warned.

Lam added that if the daily number of cases fell into the triple digits, she intended to stop holding her regular press briefings dedicated to the coronavirus pandemic.

Separately, the head of a government committee on vaccines urged “hardliner” parents to consider the health of their children and get them inoculated against Covid-19.

“Some parents still don’t believe in vaccines,” said Professor Lau Yu-lung, who chairs the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases. “We will repeat over and over again that vaccines are safe and the best way to protect your child.”

Lau told a radio programme that school principals and teachers also had a duty to build trust with parents and communicate the importance of vaccination to protect pupils.

The vaccination rate for children has plateaued at 61 per cent. According to government data, 202,000 children aged three to 11 remain unvaccinated. Excluding nearly 60,000 who have already been infected with Covid-19 in the fifth wave, Lau estimated at least 140,000 young residents had not developed immunity against the coronavirus.

Children who overcome a Covid-19 infection are recommended to get vaccinated one month after recovery, according to Lau.

Dr Mike Kwan Yat-wah, a consultant at Princess Margaret Hospital’s paediatric infectious diseases unit, also called on teachers to persuade parents and their school communities to work together to get vaccinated.

“Going to school is very important for child development. We don’t want to see a rebound of cases among children when schools reopen, so please get your children vaccinated,” Kwan told the same radio show.

Separately, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung told a radio programme that authorities were considering requiring students to take rapid tests when face-to-face classes resumed.

“This is for us to find out the infection situation in schools,” Yeung said.

The city’s overall tally of infections since the pandemic began stood at 1,188,262, with 8,705 fatalities.

Additional reporting by Leung Pak-hei