Coronavirus in Hungary: Viktor Orbán announces partial containment from Wednesday 11/11

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The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has reached central and eastern Europe and is expected to peak in mid-November.

Curfew from 8pm in Hungary

Viktor Orbán announced on Monday morning a battery of new measures, which took effect at midnight on Tuesday night

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, so far reluctant to tighten restrictions in response to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, announced Monday a partial lockdown starting Wednesday 11/11.

Gatherings are banned, restaurants closed, cultural and leisure events cancelled and the curfew extended from 20:00 to 05:00, Orbán said in a video posted on Facebook. Sporting events are being maintained but will be held behind closed doors.

On the education side, nurseries and schools will remain open, but in high schools and universities, courses will now be taught at a distance.

These measures, which were approved by Parliament on Tuesday, are to be in place for a minimum of 30 days.

The central European country of just under 10 million people has recorded nearly 2,500 deaths from the coronavirus and almost 115,000 cases of infection since the start of the pandemic, with an explosion in recent weeks.

Popular activities for Hungarians during lockdown

While many Hungarians will have no choice but to stop working and stay at home, some already have ideas to keep their time busy.

• DIY and little ideas to decorate an apartment 

On the internet, there are plenty of DIY tutorials: simple and quick ideas to do at home, without specific skills and with little material. Scissors, thread, plastic bottles or glass jars and a few tempera are enough to create small decorations that will embellish the house. This is the right time to have fun and let the imagination run wild. 

• Doing online training or watching lectures

Depending on the interests, it is possible to sign up for online courses or e-learning platforms. These sites offer distance learning courses, free or paid, for all subjects and all levels. For example, it is possible to start learning a new language, take music lessons, take a course in computer development or web design…. It’s up to everybody, but it’s the perfect opportunity to become more professional. It is also possible to take part in web conferences about one’s field of activity or to open oneself up to new horizons.

• Read a book

Don’t you have a ton of books that you never managed to finish? No more excuses! Freed from responsibilities, social constraints and other commitments, you can devote most of your time to reading. Novels are a great way to travel from your couch!

• Playing sports

You may be more motivated in the gym, but the lockdown or curfew should not discourage you. Daily exercise is still necessary to keep your figure in shape. You can train by watching online videos of certified coaches and you can improvise. The most important thing is to move! You can also go for an outside walk alone and have fresh air before coming back inside.

• Playing board games

Monopoly, Uno… and other more or less famous games kept us company in the long winter evenings. These games taught us the first basics of strategy and helped us to overcome. It’s time to rediscover old ones and maybe even new ones? It’s a creative and fun way to spend time and an opportunity to strengthen family ties with a group activity. 

If you’re on your own, you can download or find online games to play online or network. The industry that became very popular during the first lockdown was the industry of online casinos. Operators such as Pokerstars or Betiton offered plenty of casino games like poker, blackjack, roulette, etc. These games also permit to win a lot of new skills that are relevant in the professional life!

• Cooking and eating healthy 

In this period, it is important to strengthen your immune system. Eating healthy is a good way to stay in shape. Take time to prepare your own meals, you may be a great cook with hidden and extraordinary talents, who knows? And if you’re already cooking, take advantage of this lockdown to try out new recipes. This activity will take your mind off things and pass the time. You can also order healthy food to your favorite restaurant to help the local entrepreneurs keeping their activity alive.

• Watch movies and series 

This will certainly be one of the star activities of this lockdown. If you don’t have Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, no problem, many pay platforms have a few free movies to watch during this period. 

You’ll be spoilt for choice between comedies, films and adventure series, and you might even find time for the classics. 

• Keeping a logbook

It’s now or never! Current events are a unique moment that will mark your life. Keeping a logbook is a great and unique experience. It is also a beautiful testimony of what you are going through. When this historical crisis is behind us, you will be able to pass it on to the next generations and tell everything you have lived through, the activities you have done, the emotions you have gone through…

Writing a diary will help you to look a little deeper into the words you need to use to better define what you think and feel. Use it to take stock of your goals, manage your emotions and organise your future projects. 

Take care of yourself!