Hungary has nationwide visiting ban in hospitals over new virus concerns

Hungary’s chief medical officer has ordered visiting restrictions to be put in place at all of the country’s hospitals and nursing homes as a precaution to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, the National Public Health Centre (NNK) said late on Sunday.

The nationwide ban will remain in place until further notice, the centre said in a statement.

NNK quoted chief medical officer Cecília Müller as saying in her justification that information about the new virus so far indicates that

the Covid-19 disease primarily affects the elderly or those with illnesses.

The virus can spread quickly in closed communities and potentially cause a high number of fatalities, NNK, said, adding that the ban was introduced “in the interest of protecting the lives and health of those in vulnerable groups and preventing their infection”.

So far, seven people in Hungary have tested positive for the new virus.

Meanwhile, Pál Győrfi, spokesman for Hungary’s National Ambulance Service (OMSZ), told public news channel M1 on Sunday that OMSZ would make additional ambulances available in every county and Budapest for transporting patients with suspected coronavirus symptoms.

As we wrote today, even though the groupmates of the Iranian student at SOTE voluntarily went to St. Ladislaus Hospital to be tested for coronavirus, the hospital refused to conduct the test. The students were concerned because they all had direct contact with the Iranian student who was later found out to be infected with the coronavirus, details HERE.

• Operative board calls for visiting restrictions as Hungary coronavirus cases rise to 7

Source: MTI