Coronavirus: 2nd wave arrives early, Hungarian rector explains why

The second wave of coronavirus is here, Rector of Semmelweis University warns. Only if people could have refrained from vacationing abroad, we could have pushed it back a little, he added. The rector hopes the second wave will be milder than the first one. Now, younger people tend to get infected who can hopefully recover from the virus quickly.

As reported earlier, the number of registered coronavirus infections in Hungary has risen by 178 to 6,139, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Monday morning. There are 1,763 active infections, and 103 coronavirus patients are being treated in hospital for Covid-19, seven on ventilators. Altogether 8,982 people are in official home quarantine, and 428,150 tests have been carried out. According to professor Béla Merkely, MD, PhD, DSc, the second wave of the virus is here.

Merkely told RTL Klub that he suspected the second wave of arriving late September due to the increased number of social interactions once students are back in school. However, the record-high numbers of new cases indicate that it is already here, 3-4 weeks earlier than expected. Merkely believes that a high number of people went on holiday abroad and they most likely brought the virus back to Hungary.

A lot of people were vacationing in the neighbouring countries like Croatia, where the first wave of coronavirus prolonged and it was still going on during the summer. He sees how hard it is to distance ourselves from other Central-European countries, but he thinks Hungarians could have tolerated spending one summer within the borders. He himself did not leave the country all summer, but several of his friends and acquaintances have.

A particularly high number of people went to Croatia, for example, where the number of infections was high all summer. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also promoted local vacations and encouraged people to spend less time abroad with his infamous “less Adria, more Balaton” comment. However, Orbán did not seem to take his own advice according to Croatian magazine Jutarnji, which documented Orbán spending some time in Croatia.

Orbán’s close colleague and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szíjjártó was also caught on summer vacation on the Adriatic Sea on a EUR 20 million yacht owned by a Hungarian billionaire.

In the video, Merkely also talks briefly about the upcoming football match held in Puskás Arena, Budapest. He thinks if everybody follows the strict regulations (wearing masks, people sitting on every 3^rd seat only), the event could be held safely. According to plans, authorities would let 6,000 foreign fans into the stadium who would be transported directly to the stadium from the airport, and everyone must have two negative test results to attend.

Read alsoLatest COVID news from Hungary – one patient dies, registered infections up by 178

Source: https://rtl.hu/