Coronavirus in Hungary: Over 34,000 active infections, 48 die in the past 24 hours

Forty-eight Covid patients, mostly elderly and suffering from an underlying illness, died in the past 24 hours, and registered coronavirus infections rose by 1,423 to 50,180, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.

The death toll rose to 1,259, while 14,905 people have made a recovery. There are 34,016 active infections, while 2,023 Covid patients are hospitalised, 201 on ventilators. Fully 25,203 people are in official home quarantine, while the number of tests carried out stands at 919,481.

Border controls and entry restrictions remain in place and citizens have been asked to avoid participating in large events.

Wearing face mask is obligatory in shops, on public transport and in cinemas, theatres, shopping malls, as well as in health and social-care facilities. Restaurants and entertainment venues must close at 11pm.

Visits to hospitals and nursing homes are banned and temperature measurements are being carried out at school gates.

Fully 64 kindergartens and 31 schools are officially under full suspension, while 176 classes and 17 schools are carrying out teaching online.

Budapest (15,173) and Pest County (6,387) have the most infections, followed by the counties of Győr-Moson-Sopron (3,133), Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (2,939) and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (2,523). Tolna County has the fewest infections (516).

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Chief medical officer: Middle-aged, elderly infected on increase

An increasing number of people aged between 40 and 49 as well as people above 65 are among those infected with the novel coronavirus, Cecilia Müller, the chief medical officer, said on Tuesday.

She told a press conference of the operative body responsible for handling the epidemic response that comparing data from the past two weeks showed a shift, with 40-49 year-olds representing nearly 20 percent of all infected people, slightly more than 20-29 year-olds.

The proportion of people aged above 65 has also increased, she said. The average age of the infected is currently 44.4 years, she added.

The proportion of children is still low at 4.6 percent, she said.

Müller said schools will be disinfected during the upcoming autumn break and the army will help in cleaning operations in institutions where the number of infections has been especially high.

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Source: MTI/Xinhua