Hong Kong leader on COVID tests and social distancing

Hong Kong's leader announced a new goal to increase its testing capacity for the new coronavirus. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Tuesday the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's new objective is ramping up from 4,500 tests a day to 7,000 tests a day.

The Department of Health, as well as university laboratories, will be buying more equipment to support the increase in testing, Lam explained, and she identified two priority groups for testing - workers at the airport, and workers at homes for the disabled and elderly.

Hong Kong has experienced many days with no new cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, but a recent case of three members of the same family coming down with the virus has raised concerns about potential asymptomatic carriers in the community.

Social distancing regulations are due to expire on Thursday, though local media have reported that the government will likely extend some of these.

Lam also said that an announcement about the social distancing measures should be made later in the day.

She insisted that politics is not involved. That's because a further two-week extension would run up to 4 June, potentially impacting people gathering for the annual commemoration of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Hong Kong has marked this anniversary every year, unlike mainland China, where public discussion of the events of June 1989 is not tolerated.