Coronavirus in Hungary – Record number of people in hospitals and on ventilators

Fully 81 patients, mostly elderly patients with an underlying illness, have died over the past 24 hours, while 4,673 new coronavirus infections have been registered, bringing the total number of infections since the outbreak in the spring to 109,616, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Sunday.

The death toll has risen to 2,438, while 25,070 have made a recovery.

There are 82,108 active infections and 5,803 hospitalised patients, 417 on a ventilator.

Fully 34,287 people are in official home quarantine, while the number of tests carried out stands at 1,209,151.

The government has restored the “special legal order”, allowing it to take fast action. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in a video on Facebook, called on lawmakers to reintroduce the special legal order for 90 days and announced a curfew between midnight and 5am. Nightclubs have been ordered to close.

Also, parking will be made free of charge once again with a view to reducing crowds on public transport, he said.

The prime minister said sporting events, cinemas and theatres will have to restrict audiences to using every third seat, and face masks must be worn. The authorities will inspect all events and fine transgressors. Venues that fail to observe the rules will be shut down immediately, he added.

So far most people have been registered in Budapest (27,692) and Pest County (14,197), followed by the counties of Gyor-Moson-Sopron (7,429), Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen (6,460), Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg (5,727) and Hajdu-Bihar (5,526). Tolna County has the fewest infections (1,347).

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Source: MTI