A government pandemic advisor on Saturday defended the latest anti-epidemic measures, including the rule for banquet goers to show a negative rapid test result, saying this could reduce virus transmission.

Lau Chak-sing made the comments after a media report quoted Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, another expert who sits on the government's advisory panel, as saying that the
move to demand test results only from those gathering to eat in groups of more than eight wouldn't be very effective as people tend to dine out in lower numbers more.

But Professor Lau, who heads the University of Hong Kong's medical school, told a radio programme the new policy was a good idea.

"When we take off our masks and eat with others, which is a so-called high risk activity, at least we will know we tested negative on a rapid test today and the chance of virus transmission is lower," he said.

"This is to protect every one of us and reduce the chance of bringing the virus home and infecting our families, especially the elderly."

In response to some experts who said the daily Covid tally was no longer significant, Professor Lau said he agreed the authorities should focus on hospitalisation and death rates, but added that the overall infection number had to be low so those rates would not rise.

Asked whether Hong Kong should further tighten social distancing measures if the caseload keeps rising, he said: "I think that of course if we restrict our social movement, if we restrict our social gatherings, etcetera, it's not something any of us would like to [see]. But the important thing is the more of these social gatherings, the higher the risk that will be in catching the [virus] and also passing the infection onto those who are vulnerable.

"So I would think that whatever that we do, we should be doing it slowly to try to protect those populations."

Professor Lau repeated an appeal for people to get jabbed as soon as possible, adding that a probable reason for the Covid tally having increased was that people who had recovered from Covid some time ago now had fewer antibodies against the virus.