Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday people opposing a China-backed plan for universal coronavirus testing are politically motivated and aim to sabotage Hong Kong's relationship with China.
China has offered technology and expertise to test the Hong Kong public for coronavirus infection, and help screen for asymptomatic patients starting next month upon her administration's request, Lam said.
But critics, including local medical and legal experts, have cast doubt over the plan's efficacy as case numbers are dwindling and concerns have been raised over the handling of DNA data collected by authorities.
Lam told a press briefing ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting that such opponents are resisting the test plan because of "political calculation."
"These so-called professionals and doctors are using this one issue to smear the central authorities, sabotage the relationship between Hong Kong and the central authorities," she said.
Lam vowed to fully protect the privacy of people who take the tests.
As the number of cases has stayed low for weeks, the government has announced it will relax some social distancing measures starting Friday. Restaurants, now ordered to close at 6 p.m., will be able to stay open until 9 p.m., but the limit of two people per group will remain in force.
Cinemas, beauty parlors and some outdoor sports facilities will reopen, and the facemask order for country parks and outdoor activities will be lifted.
"Under the new normal, it is almost not possible for us to wait until there are no more local cases before relaxing the social distancing measures," Food and Health Secretary Sophia Chan told reporters, adding that the public should join the universal testing program to help identify silent carriers.
Nearly 90 percent of all 4,691 cases reported so far were locally transmitted, of which some 40 percent have no known source of infection, said Constance Chan, director of the Department of Health, adding it demonstrates that the chain of infection remains in the community.
Regarding the case of a Hong Kong man who was twice infected with the disease across the span of five months, possibly the world's first reported case of compromised immunity in recovered patients, Constance Chan said more studies are needed before any conclusions can be reached.
Nineteen more confirmed cases were reported Tuesday, putting the tally at 4,710 cases, with 77 deaths.
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