Budapest mask-wearing decree to be revoked!

An upcoming meeting of the Budapest General Assembly will revoke a municipal decree on mask wearing because it goes against a government decree, a higher-level regulation, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Monday.

In line with the government decree, masks covering the nose and mouth will be mandatory to wear in certain locations and it will not be sufficient to wear a scarf, as stipulated in the municipal decree, Karácsony said on Facebook.

“The novel coronavirus apidemic is spreading in the country at an unprecedented rate,”

he said and asked everyone to observe preventive regulations.

Karácsony said

the municipal council was first to take action when it had made face covers mandatory in the spring and was also first to introduce stricter regulations in the autumn, making face covers mandatory not only on public transport and in shops, but also in theatres and other cultural institutions.

Thanks to Budapest residents observing the regulations in a disciplined manner, national statistics show that compared to the number of residents, the capital is in mid-field in terms of the number of infections, he added.

Hungary on Monday registered 2,316 new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour span, raising the national total to 61,563, according to the government’s coronavirus information website. In the past 24 hours, a further 47 people had succumbed to the disease, taking the death toll to 1,472 in Hungary, while 16,491 have recovered. Currently, 2,602 patients are being treated in hospital, 233 of whom are on ventilators. Details HERE.

Despite the increasing numbers, the goal of the Hungarian government is still to keep the country running and functioning, and not to let the virus paralyze everyday life, according to the website.

“During the current autumn break, schools are conducting thorough disinfecting cleaning, while authorities have ordered the temporary closure of 51 kindergartens,” the website added.

Last Friday, the government made the wearing of masks compulsory in outdoor events.

Hungary’s COVID-19 cases have risen sharply since late August. The country’s caseload topped 10,000 on Sept. 10, 20,000 on Sept. 23, 30,000 on Oct. 4, 40,000 on Oct. 14 and 50,000 on Oct. 21.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has pledged to procure a COVID-19 vaccine, which will be made available to all citizens who want it.

Orbán explained that his administration was conducting talks with the United States, Japan, China and Russia on vaccine procurement.

Hungary had also contributed to research programs funded by the European Union.

Source: MTI