Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), urged residents on Tuesday to stay at home and refrain from social gatherings, saying the next two weeks will be crucial to containing a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections.

Carrie Lam said the COVID-19 pandemic remains a primary concern but it doesn't mean the government will step back from carrying out measures introduced in her policy address last week.

Lam was speaking at her weekly press conference a day after the government announced tighter measures to curb the spread of the virus. Group gatherings will be restricted to two people, most civil servants will work from home, and schools will close for the rest of the year from Wednesday.

The HKSAR on Monday reported 76 new COVID-19 cases, mainly domestically transmitted. Eighty-seven new cases were reported on average daily between November 23 and 29, 90 percent of which were locally transmitted, Lam said on Monday.

(With input from Reuters)