Coronavirus in Hungary – 31 million masks, 133,000 tests received from China

Hungary has received nearly 31 million masks, 133,000 tests and 152 ventilators from China, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday.

A Chinese production line under assembly in Sátoraljaújhely, in NE Hungary, will start operation within days to produce 2.8 million masks a day, the minister told parliament’s foreign affairs committee.

Some 400,000 pills received from China over the weekend contain an active ingredient that researchers said could be effective in treating coronavirus patients, he added.

Later this week, an additional 8 million masks are expected to arrive over the Chinese-Hungarian air link, he said.

All the equipment received so far has arrived from China, with western European countries and the US also standing in line for masks and ventilators there, Szijjártó said. It is the national responses that “are working” in the current crisis situation whereas international organisations are only trying to find their place, Szijjártó said referring to the European Union.

In response to a question by an MP, he said Hungary is ready to help ethnic Hungarians beyond the borders, and the related consultations are already under way.

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Source: MTI