Coronavirus in Hungary – New record in death numbers, cases continue to soar!

Fully 182 Covid patients, generally elderly and suffering from an underlying illness, have died over the past 24 hours, while 6,635 more virus cases have been officially registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday.

The total number of cases since the first outbreak in the country has risen to 231,844, while the death toll now stands at 5,324. Fully 67,033 people have made a recovery.

Active infections number 159,487, while there are 7,693 hospitalised patients, 663 on ventilators.

Fully 50,430 people are in official home quarantine, while the number of tests carried out has risen to 1,876,274.

So far, most coronavirus cases have been registered in Budapest (48,746) and Pest County (30,187), followed by the counties of Gyor-Moson-Sopron (14,917), Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen (14,098) and Hajdu-Bihar (12,544). Tolna (3,704) has the fewest cases.

Restrictions in Hungary

Between 9am and 11am on weekdays and 8am and 10am on weekends, customers below that age are banned from shopping in grocery shops, household chemists and pharmacies. Senior citizens have the right to shop at any time.

On November 10, lawmakers extended the government’s special powers by 90 days, allowing the government to suspend the application of some legislation, diverge from legal provisions and take other extraordinary measures by decree.

A decree made commercial P+Rs, parking garages and parking lots in residential areas free of charge from 7:00 in the evening until 7:00 in the morning, more details HERE.

Soldiers are helping the police in carrying out their duties in public areas. Soldiers have also been assigned to help out staff in 93 hospitals around Hungary. The curfew is in force between 8pm and 5am, and work carried out beyond the home must be justified. With the exception of pharmacies and petrol stations, shops can be open until 7pm. Hairdressers, masseurs and personal trainers must observe general curfew rules. Family and private events including birthday celebrations can be held with a maximum of ten people attending.

A major new rule is that face masks must be worn in public spaces in localities with more than 10,000 residents, though it is up to local mayors to decide which spaces the rule applies to.

Restaurants are limited to offering takeaways, while hotels are not allowed to cater to tourists, only guests arriving for business, economic or educational purposes. Sports events must be held behind closed doors.

Also, leisure facilities such as fitness gyms, indoor swimming pools, museums, libraries, cinemas, zoos and skating rinks must suspend their services. Events, including cultural events and Christmas fairs, cannot be held under the special rules.

Source: MTI