Pedestrians walk on a street in Hong Kong on March 31, 2021. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s rollout of the BioNTech coronavirus vaccine will resume on Monday, 12 days after the government suspended its use due to defective packaging.

A new batch of 300,000 doses of the BioNTech vaccine will arrive in the city on Friday, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said at a briefing on Thursday.

Hong Kong reported 13 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, including two locally transmitted infections, pushing the city’s tally to 11,480

During the 12-day suspension, 183,000 residents were supposed to receive BioNTech shots at the community vaccination centers, including 30,000 who need to take their second shot, Nip said.

Slots will be reserved from April 5 to 10 for these 30,000 residents to take their second dose. The appointments of other affected residents will be rescheduled. They can also make changes to their bookings starting Saturday.

The defects that caused the suspension included loose vial caps and stained bottles and affected a small number of bottles, according to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region officials. About 1.3 million doses have been delivered to the financial hub, and around 150,000 people had received BioNTech shots in Hong Kong prior to the halt.

Citing BioNTech’s report, Director of Health Constance Chan Hon-yee said the packaging defect did affect the safety or efficacy of the vaccine shots.

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BioNTech confirmed in an analysis report submitted on Thursday that the defect arose when the vaccines were sealed at an ultralow temperature, Chan said.

The vaccine doses already in the city will be mothballed until the drugmaker finalizes its report, Chan added.

As of Wednesday, 505,000 vaccine shots had been administered since the vaccination program started on Feb 26, with 461,000 people receiving their first shot, accounting for 7 percent of the city’s population aged 16 or above. Only 44,000 had completed taking the required two doses.

Nip urged members of the public to participate in the vaccination program more proactively to achieve herd immunity.

Hong Kong reported 13 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, including two locally transmitted infections, pushing the city’s tally to 11,480.

READ MORE: Fosun, BioNTech find no vaccine safety concerns in initial probe

The two local cases were both untraceable, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said in a statement.

One involved a 23-year-old a decoration worker who visited his workplace on Saturday and developed a cough and diarrhea on Sunday. The other involved a 56-year-old woman who developed shortness of breath on Monday and last went to work at Majesty Seafood Restaurant in Wan Chai on Wednesday, according to the CHP.

The 11 imported cases on Thursday included five from Indonesia, three from the Philippines, two from Pakistan and one from Nepal.

Meanwhile, two special flights will take off from London on April 21 and 28 to bring home HK residents stranded in the United Kingdom, the Hong Kong government announced on Thursday.

Flights from the UK had been banned since late December last year, after a new coronavirus variant, believed to be more contagious, emerged there.

Returnees will be quarantined at Rambler Garden Hotel in Tsing Yi for 21 days and will be tested for the virus. Online bookings for the special flights, arranged by the carrier, will be opened on April 8.

With Bloomberg inputs