Danube embankment to open for pedestrians on weekend

The lower Danube embankment will be closed to vehicle traffic at the weekend while opening up to pedestrians and cyclists as part of the metropolitan council’s Budapest Restart policy, the city’s mayor, Gergely Karácsony, said on Thursday.

Initial measures serve to reduce overcrowding, Karácsony told an online press conference. Like last weekend, Margaret Island and Óbuda Island will also stay open, he said.

The reopening of the capital must be done cautiously and gradually, he added.

In response to a question, he said consultations with local district mayors were under way on the possibility of reopening playgrounds and sports grounds.

Karácsony said the government was releasing Covid-19 data in a manipulative manner, making effective protective measures hard to maintain. He cited the results of a survey published on Wednesday showing that the level of infection in Hungarian society was barely detectable.

A study published by Válasz Online on Facebook shows that hospitals are nest beds of infection and worse than elderly care homes when it comes to virus transmissions, he added.