Coronavirus – Government maintains restrictions, aims to prevent second wave

The government’s aim is to prevent a second wave of the novel coronavirus epidemic and has decided to maintain the current level of restrictions, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said on Thursday.

Gergely Gulyás told a regular press briefing that changing the current restrictions would be risky and the government wants to avoid this.

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The aim is to ensure that the school year starts in regular order on September 1, he said.

The current ban on gatherings of more than 500 people will be extended after August 15, Gulyás said.

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The government will provide 5.3 billion forints (EUR 15.3m) to support the music industry, including 800 million forints to help Roma musicians, he added.

The government will provide 5.3 billion forints (EUR 15.3m) to support the music industry, including 800 million forints to help Roma musicians, he added.

Gulyás said Hungary was among countries that had handled the first wave of the epidemic most successfully.

At the same time, he cautioned that a surge of is under way in many other countries. The situation is worsening in Serbia, Romania, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro, and a slight increase in cases has been reported in Sweden, the UK and Italy, indicating a global trend. The number of active infections, however, is falling in neighbouring Croatia and Slovenia, he added. Under the current circumstances, infection levels in Hungary can be kept stable, he added.

Gulyás called on citizens to respect social distancing rules and regulations on wearing a mask, he said.

He said every effort should be made to keep any second wave to a minimum. If active infections in Hungary exceed 1,000-1,500, then a second would be under way, he said, adding that there are currently 500-600 active infections.

He confirmed that a decision has been made to keep simplified rules on medicine subscriptions in force after the Sept. 17 regulation expires.

Commenting on screening requirements for travellers returning from countries classed as yellow and red, he said tests could be used from both state and private health-care providers for people who want to leave quarantine. The ministry will release detailed instructions on the requirements after Aug. 1, he added.

In response to a question concerning police sanctions for the violation of mask-wearing rules, he said the law allows for fines up to several tens of thousands of forints, and this had been applied in a few cases. At the same time, he said the government was asking people to observe the rules voluntarily.

He also said that the Hungarian government will turn to the European Commission to facilitate higher wages for employees of the national postal service.

Gulyás noted that the national economy was much worse off than before the coronavirus crisis, but Hungarian postal employees were “earning undeservedly low wages in relation to the high quality services they provide”. The postal service is not a profitable enterprise and any pay rise requires the European Commission’s approval, he said. Gulyas added that the government was also in talks with the relevant trade unions concerning the magnitude of a potential pay rise.

On the subject of reported development plans for Budapest’s Hajogyari Island, Gulyas said that the government would not support any such construction on the island.

Source: MTI