BREAKING! Hungary officially lifts curfew, abolishes mask wearing
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a radio interview on Friday that “we’ve basically defeated the third wave” of the coronavirus, and that a number of remaining restrictions would be lifted once five million people have been vaccinated.
So far 4,898,866 have received a jab and the five million mark “will certainly be reached this weekend”, Orbán told public broadcaster Kossuth Radio. This puts Hungary in Europe’s vanguard, he said.
“Hungary is ever safer compared with other countries.”
Outstanding restrictions to be lifted include the night-time curfew, the mandatory closing time of restaurants and shops, wearing masks in public spaces, as well as the ban on outdoor individual and team sports.
Further, up to 50 people can attend private and family events, while up to 200 people can attend weddings.
Hotel and restaurant managers must make sure guests are separated, while up to 500 people can attend outdoor events, including meetings.
Photo: www.facebook.com/Fröccsterasz
Only people with vaccination certificates can attend music and dance events, he said. Meanwhile, vaccinated 16-18 year-olds can take part in cultural and sports events indoors, he added.
Hungary is the only EU country to have approved and used Russian and Chinese vaccines in large quantities before the European Medicines Agency has examined or approved them.
This has enabled it to reach one of the EU’s highest inoculation rates, with 50% of its population of around 10 million having already had at least one shot.
Whereas the operative board overseeing Hungary’s Covid-related measures will no longer be active from Friday, readiness to respond to any resurgence would be maintained since 3,000,000 adults are still not inoculated.
He urged them to overcome their resistance to vaccination, noting that, with the exception of Serbia, vaccination rates in neighbouring countries were much lower than in Hungary. Also, vigilence is needed to ensure that vaccines used in Hungary also protect against new variants, he added.
In addition to the vaccines already administered, 7.3 million vaccines are in stock or on order from Pfizer, 1.2 million from Moderna, 4 million from Janssen and 4.7 million from Astra-Zeneca, he said. Setting aside Chinese and Russian vaccines, these would be enough to vaccinate all Hungarians in 2021 and 2022, even taking into account a possible third or even fourth dose, he added.
Orbán said that even so, in order to ensure self-sufficinecy in the long term, a Hungarian vaccine would be ready and manufactured in the second half of 2022 at a plant now under construction in Debrecen.
With domestic production “we can guarantee the safety of all Hungarians for decades.”
Most aspects of its service industry are already back in operation, including hotels, restaurants, spas, theatres, cinemas, gyms and sports venues.
The economy shrank by 5% last year, and Orbán, who faces elections in 2022, said this year’s GDP growth could be higher than the government’s current projection of 4.3%.
He reiterated that the government has decided to extend a COVID-19 loan repayment moratorium until the end of August, in order to allow banks and the government to continue talks and hammer out plans regarding the future of the moratorium.
Lower-income borrowers would have to be supported further on, he said, without going into details.
Read alsoHungarian government to lift the curfew and allow concerts?
Source: MTI, Reuters
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11 Comments
Time to vaccinate foreign residents
Many Hungarians only rely on or have access to govt controlled media ( 90 % of media in Hu ) and they probably do not know that there are other EU countries which are not using the useless Chinese vaccine, nor Russian Sputnik, and have reached the same percentage of inoculated citizens as Hungary. Simply by relying on Ema approved, and thus safe, vaccines.
Once again, the Hu govt is lying to its citizens. People should remember this when 2022 elections come
Long live the EU.
West Coast & Mario – totally support your opinions and explanations.
Mario, did you ever consider the possibility that you don’t speak for most people here in Hungary both Hungarians and a good many of us expats? Many of us really do not trust Pfizer, Moderna, Astra Zeneca Jannsen and their products. If we want to trust the Sinopharm or Sputnik cacinnes that is up to us to decide not you. If the EMA refuses to certify the Chinese and Russian vaccines that should tell people with common sense that their is a conflict of interest at the EMA whom are risking peoples health in the name of protecting their friends at the western big pharma labs profit margins. Whether or not EMA approves the Russian and Chinese vaccines will not affect my choice to decide whom I trust. I chose to trust the Sputnik Russian vaccine over the chemical cocktails from the western big pharma boys.
Not a guinea etc. You and fellow Magyars are fully entitled to trusting whichever vaccine you wish, that is not the point. The point is the govt is lying when boasting about this that many lives were saved thanks to its decision of relying on certain vaccines instead of on those approved by Ema and that half population vaccinated could have not been achieved if Hungary had relied solely on Ema approved vaccines. These are the lies i am referring to.
Once again, Mario is showing everyone his ‘brown tongue’ in relation to the E.U.
The sooner it implodes – together with Mario – the better it will be for most European citizens (forget about the illegal MUSLIM migrants who count for nothing apart from enormous expense & social disruption).
P.s. i mean, half of the population inoculated at least once, not vaccinated.
The government even went further by saying the eastern vaccines were more effective than the western ones. There was no scientific evidence whatsoever. Outrageous really.
The thing that does concern me, however, is when we reach the five million mark, it doesn’t mean that this number is immune. It only means that five million vaccinations have been given. To suddenly say we don’t need masks, end of curfew, groups of more that 50 can meet or 200 can attend a wedding, is somewhat irresponsible. We’re not immune overnight after one injection.
UK 60% first vaccines; Hungary 49% first vaccines; UK 32% second vaccines; Hungary 29% second vaccines
It was only five days ago that two households could meet indoors and these families could hug again. The UK has administered more vaccines but even they’re not even lifting the rest of the restrictions until mid June and that’s depending on the Indian variant.
There are more than rumours regarding Pfizer, Astra and Moderna vaccines…. Meanwhile Russia is started 1 dose vaccines to provide and these are used in extremely high volume in South America and India.
No double standards please, the West also blocking news from the East.which also isnt FAIR.
The INTENT of Mario and Co. is to confuse and to degrade.
As I can see, they GET a good serving of what they so deserve.
Thank God most of Hungarians can see through these people and make up their minds themselves.
Hungarian government has been making a very good job regarding vaccination. The number of people being vaccinated is much higher than in the other EU countries, certainly with very minor exceptions such as Malta.
Apart from that, to my mind that number could be even higher, because the vaccine is available and everybody who’d like to get a jab can easily arrange an appointment for it. It seems to me that the matter is mentality of some people who simply don’t want to vaccinate right now. Although it doesn’t affect government’s good job.