Breaking – never has ever been the number of newly infected this high in Hungary

Fully 146 patients, generally elderly with an underlying condition, have died over the past 24 hours, and 7,269 new coronavirus infections have been registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Saturday.

The number of infections has risen to 459,816, while the death toll has increased to 15,765. The number of recoveries stands at 333,045.

There are 111,006 active infections, while hospitals are caring for 7,243 Covid patients, 751 of whom are on ventilators.

More than 45 thousand people are in official home quarantine, while the number of tests carried out is above 3.8 million.

Altogether 949,497 people have been vaccinated so far, with 304,880 having received a second shot.

Most infections have been registered in Budapest (86,635) and Pest County (59,981), followed by Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (26,307), Győr-Moson-Sopron (26,165) and Hajdú-Bihar counties (25,498). The county least affected by the infection is still Tolna (10,252).

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Hungary closes down until March 22 to curb Covid spread

Hungary will close almost all shops and services for two weeks along with kindergartens and primary schools for the next month in an effort to tackle the third wave of coronavirus infections, the prime minister’s chief of staff announced yesterday. MORE INFO HERE.

Shops, with the exception of food stores, pharmacies and petrol stations, will have to be closed and services, with the exception of private health care, suspended between March 8 and 22, Gergely Gulyás told a weekly press briefing.

Kindergartens and primary schools will be closed from March 8 until April 7, he said.

Gyms will also be closed for two weeks, but licenced athletes will be allowed to train and compete behind closed doors, Gulyás said. Parks will be allowed to stay open and outdoor sports will also be allowed for activities in which people can maintain a safe distance of 1.5 metres, he said.

The government asks employers to ensure that their employees can work from home wherever possible, particularly in the case of those with children, Gulyás said. Mask-wearing remains mandatory outdoors, he said. Gulyás also said that Hungary will impose tighter controls on its borders, adding, however that freight and transit traffic will not be restricted.

Wage subsidies and tax cuts introduced for the hospitality industry will be expanded for the period of the lockdown to all sectors forced to shut down by the new measures, Gulyás said.

Source: koronavirus.gov.hu