Coronavirus – HR ministry orders health-care providers to protect older employees

The Human Resources Ministry on Sunday called on health-care institutions to separate staff who are more than 65 years old from patients and have them consult with colleagues over the phone.

In a statement to MTI, the ministry said the spread of the new coronavirus presented particular dangers to the elderly and those with chronic health conditions, and the most important measure was to drastically cut down on interactions between doctors and patients.

Scheduled surgeries will be postponed until the state of emergency is lifted, and operations will go ahead only if urgent, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the human resources ministry has agreed with health-care unions to postpone strike negotiations until the crisis is over.

Regarding another topic, the National Centre for Public Health (NNK) has asked people returning to Hungary from Austria to cooperate with the authorities, citing the lockdown of several Austrian localities in Carinthia and Tyrol due to a large increase in confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.

Many Hungarians are thought to have left the areas before the lockdown was implemented, the NNK said in a statement on Sunday. But with a view to reducing the spread of the virus in Hungary, the NNK is asking anyone who visited Ischgl, Kappl, St. Anton am Arlberg, See, Galtür, or Heiligenblut in Carinthia and Tyrol to self-islolate for 14 days and contact the authorities.

The relevant information is available on the NNK website.

On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced that Panznauntal and Sankt Anton am Arlberg in Tyrol was in lockdown after a ramp-up of infections in some areas of the province.

Source: MTI