Social distancing measures tackling the coronavirus outbreak in Hong Kong will be extended till May 7 the city's Chief Executive announced on Tuesday.

No city-wide lockdown, similar to other countries, has been put in place, but restrictions on public gatherings limiting numbers to four, closures of pubs, karaoke bars and other businesses were set to expire on Friday after the city recorded no new cases of the coronavirus in six weeks as of Monday.

"This is indeed a very difficult balancing act, you are right, on one hand we want to fight the virus and keep our citizens safe, but on the other hand if the city is dead, it doesn't have any business. People do not have normal activities that becomes also very difficult. In striking this balance we have to first of all take science as a basis," Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam said.

New cases in the Asian financial hub have been in the single digits over the past week, most of which were imported, bringing the total to 1,025 cases and four deaths.

In her weekly briefing, Lam also expressed her disappointment after Fitch Ratings downgraded Hong Kong to AA- credit rating. She said that security has been the reason behind the change in confidence from the international community.