1.5 m coronavirus tests ‘locked away from public’?
Some 1.5 million coronavirus tests are warehoused in Hungary, “locked away, unused, from the public,” a board member of the Democratic Coalition (DK) said on Friday.
Olga Kálmán told a press conference that last year DK had submitted a request for information of public interest on the number and route of coronavirus tests that the foreign ministry had channeled into the health-care system. The data obtained showed that the national health-care supply centre “could not account for some 1.5 million tests,” she said.
The party sued the National Hospital Directorate,
and the “the results showed the missing tests were gathering dust in a warehouse,” she said.
“Meanwhile, people are requested to pay nearly 20,000 forints [EUR 57] for tests at every turn,” Kálmán said. DK has been demanding mass testing since the coronavirus pandemic started, “but the government refuses to act responsibly and does not attempt to protect the health of Hungarians,” she said.
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Five patients died over the past 24 hours of a Covid-related illness, while 479 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Friday. So far 5,855,039 people have received a first jab, while 5,564,586 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 590,000 Hungarians have already received a booster jab.
The number of active infections stands at 7,259, while hospitals are treating 353 Covid patients, 41 of whom need respiratory assistance. Since the first outbreak, 817,159 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,123. Fully 779,777 people have made a recovery. There are 4,605 people in official quarantine, while 6,768,975 tests have been officially carried out.
So far, most infections have been registered in Budapest and Pest County, followed by the counties of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Győr-Moson-Sopron and Hajdú-Bihar.
The number of active infections stands at 7,259, while hospitals are treating 353 Covid patients, 41 of whom need respiratory assistance. Since the first outbreak, 817,159 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,123. Fully 779,777 people have made a recovery. There are 4,605 people in official quarantine, while 6,768,975 tests have been officially carried out.
So far, most infections have been registered in Budapest and Pest County, followed by the counties of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Győr-Moson-Sopron and Hajdú-Bihar.
Source: MTI