Coronavirus: Hong Kong extends virus measures for two weeks

Authorities have banned public gatherings of more than four people

People wearing face masks walk past a bank electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange Tuesday, April 21, 2020. AP

Hong Kong's government will extend social restrictions aimed at tackling the coronavirus for another 14 days, the Chine-ruled city's leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday.

Hong Kong recorded zero new coronavirus cases on Monday for the first time since early March. The city has confirmed 1,025 total cases and four deaths since the outbreak began in January.

Auhtorities banned public gatherings of more than four people from March 29 and later extended that restriction until April 23. Game centres, gyms, cinemas and other places of amusement and public entertainment are also closed and foreign arrivals at the airport have been suspended indefinitely.

The extension will see businesses such as bars, pubs, beauty salons and karaoke bars remain closed until at least May 7. Restaurants, which have been allowed to operate, can only to do so at half their capacity with tables spaced approximately 1.5 metres (5 feet) apart.

The measures, which were first implemented for two weeks at the end of March, were already extended once and had been due to expire April 23.

The restrictions come amid unrest on the island.

China said on Tuesday it supported the Hong Kong government's decision to arrest 15 activists and said criticisms from the United States and Britain exposed their "political conspiracy" to back anti-China forces in the city.

The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said in a statement some radical elements in the city were blind to the intervention of external forces.