HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) exam, the university entrance test, will be held on April 22 as scheduled, with special arrangements for COVID-19 control, an official said Monday.

A special examination site will be set up at the quarantine center at Penny's Bay for candidates who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 as well as those classified as close contacts, said Kevin Yeung, secretary for education of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

The Education Bureau of the HKSAR government will offer charter bus services for students who will take the exam at the facility, Yeung told a news conference, saying the bureau will continue to closely monitor the latest development of the ongoing pandemic.

Hong Kong registered 1,589 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 1,549 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests on Monday, official data showed.

Under Hong Kong's New Academic Structure, all students are expected to complete three years of junior secondary education followed by three years of senior secondary education. Upon completion of this six-year secondary education, students will take the HKDSE, which aims to measure the attainment of students.

The total number of applicants this year was about 50,000, a drop of 3.5 percent from last year, according to data from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority.