Coronavirus – Hungary not taking testing people seriously

Illustration. Photo: MTI

No more than 2,000 tests were done in Hungary on each day since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The daily record is March 28, when 1,845 tests were registered. In Belgium, 10,000 ones are done daily. Many countries speed up to prevent the spreading of the virus by doing and purchasing as many tests as possible—many countries except Hungary.

444.hu reported that more tests in countries with fewer residents than Hungary became a general fact in Europe, but even the states with more people do more. In Austria, the number of done tests are above 100,000 while in the Czech Republic around 91,000; the Czechs aim to increase the daily amount to reach 100,000.

Gergely Gulyás reported that the data on the number of tests in Hungary are public and the number keeps increasing; already reaching 20,000. Reportedly, the Hungarian state follows the advice of the WHO which would be to do as many tests as possible.

On March 29, when the data became public, there were 408 registered infected people and 1,845 done tests. On the morning of April 7, almost 820 infected people were registered, which leads us to the thought that the increased number of patients boosted the number of done tests. But it did not.

Since the record number (1,845) nine days passed and the average is only 1,288. The number did not increase and the opening of more laboratories across the country (Debrecen, Pécs, Szeged) did not help either to make it happen.

Quick tests are not included in the statistics as their accuracy is only 80%, Gulyás said. Péter Szijjártó added that the Hungarian state purchased tests from China (3.3 million) and 133,200 already arrived.