Coronavirus in Hungary: fatalities have risen to nearly 19,000 – March 24, 2021

Fully 249 generally elderly patients with co-morbidities died over the past 24 hours, while 7,587 new infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.

Altogether 1,696,110 people have been vaccinated in Hungary, 494,520 of whom have received a second shot, the portal said.

The number of active infections has risen to 192,951 while hospitals are caring for 11,805 Covid patients, 1,423 of whom need respiratory assistance.

Altogether 51,230 people are in official home quarantine, and the number of tests stands at 4,367,900.

Since the first outbreak, 593,710 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 18,952. Fully 381,807 people have made a recovery.

• Overwhelmed COVID hospitals in Hungary: Civilians are being recruited

So far, most infections have been registered in Budapest (113,061) and Pest County (82,772), followed by the counties of Győr-Moson-Sopron (34,013), Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (32,955) and Hajdú-Bihar (31,704). Tolna County has the fewest infections (12,887).

Coronavirus-related restrictions extended until March 29

Hungary closed most shops, services, kindergartens and primary schools for the next month in an effort to curb the third wave of coronavirus infections. Details: It’s official! PM Orbán confirms the extension of Covid-19 restrictions in Hungary

Shops, with the exception of grocery stores, pharmacies, petrol stations, drugstores, tobacco shops, shops selling tools for “spring gardening”, pet food and fodder shops, and markets, will have to be closed, and services will have to stop, with the exception of private healthcare, social care, financial, postal, and car repair services, suspended between March 8 and 29. Kindergartens and primary schools will be closed from March 8 until April 7.

Gyms will continue to be closed for two weeks, but licenced athletes will be allowed to train and compete behind closed doors. 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.

The government asks employers to ensure that their employees can work from home wherever possible, particularly in the case of those with children.

Mask-wearing remains mandatory outdoors. Hungary would 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.

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