Hungary’s reopening – will we really get back our freedom by the summer?

Since the government modified the inoculation program and granted all teachers who registered to get the first jab before schools reopen, the dates of the possible end of lockdown changed. According to the government, they need at least 2.5 million inoculated people to allow education and shops to reopen. Portfolio.hu calculated the new deadlines.

The Hungarian news website says that, according to the Hungarian government, by Easter, the inoculation program could have 2.5 million people in the country. That is the most important prerequisite for education institutions and shops to reopen – both PM Viktor Orbán and Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás said so on Friday.

They said that

the deadline for that would be April 10,

so schools could reopen on April 19. The problem is that, in the case of teachers, there will be many who did not get the vaccine early enough to be actively immunised. 

Furthermore, government communication shows that PM Viktor Orbán and his advisors calculate with a prolonged infection curve peaking at a very high level, maintaining the extreme pressure on the Hungarian healthcare system, Portfolio.hu says. Meanwhile,

they would like to reopen all shops based on a customer per square metre system. 

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Based on the calculations of Portfolio.hu, the risk of having a fourth wave is not likely. That is because, after April 10, the Hungarian inoculation program will accelerate and reach 3 and 4 million earlier than previously expected. PM Viktor Orbán, for example, said on Friday morning that on April 19, the three millionth Hungarian would get their first vaccine. 

According to Portfolio.hu, the vaccination program could reach that number on April 15. April 27 is the new deadline for 4 million people to have been vaccinated in total. Furthermore, they

did not calculate with the two additional vaccines accepted by the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition

because there is no contract concerning them yet. EU leaders also agreed that they would accelerate their vaccine import, which can be beneficial for Hungary.

According to the website’s calculations, Hungary could reach five million inoculated people by May 8, 6 million by May 18, and 7 million by May 29, which would mean that

the country may fully reopen at the end of May or at the beginning of June.

Of course, that is just a theory, which is affected by many factors, like the state bureaucracy, vaccine scepticism, or organisation. For example, according to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, 21 pc of Hungarians would refuse to take any of the jabs. That fact decreases the theoretical inoculation peak of 6.2 million people. However, that would mean a 79 pc immunisation among adults, which is enough to reopen the country and banish the disease to the history books. That is why PM Viktor Orbán said 

Hungarians would have a free summer.

Source: portfolio.hu