Hungary’s Covid-19 death toll tops 6,000, total cases at over 256,000

Photo: MTI

Fully 136 Covid patients, mostly elderly and suffering from an underlying illness, died over the past 24 hours in Hungary, while 2,219 infections were registered, bringing the total over the course of the pandemic to 256,367, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Monday.

The death toll stands at 6,120 while 75,281 have made a recovery. The number of active infections stands at 174,966, while 8,045 patients are in hospital, 656 on ventilators.

Fully 45,542 people are in official home quarantine, while the number of tests carried out has risen to 2,158,818.

Most of the infected have been registered in Budapest (52,788) and Pest County (33,252),

followed by the counties of Győr-Moson-Sopron (16,034), Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (15,208), Hajdú-Bihar (14,117) and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (13,068). Tolna County (4,393) has the least number of infections.

Pre-registration starts for vaccination

Pre-registration has started for vaccination against the novel coronavirus at the website vakcinainfo.gov.hu, an official of the Prime Minister’s Office said on Facebook on Monday evening.

State Secretary Csaba Dömötör said those that pre-register will also get up-to-date information about the epidemic and about when they can expect to get vaccinated.

Vaccination will start in line with a schedule, once a safe vaccine approved by the Hungarian authorities is available,

he added.

He said medically vulnerable groups and those in front-line jobs will get priority in access to vaccination.

As we wrote yesterday, Hungary is weighing whether to participate in clinical trials of the coronavirus vaccine being developed by Russia, details HERE.

Hungary’s restrictions to stay in place

As we wrote on yesterday, Hungary’s current, strict coronavirus-related restrictions will be kept in place until January 11, PM Orbán said.

The central board coordinating efforts against the epidemic will decide about a possible exception for Christmas Eve on December 21, in view of the situation then. Orbán added, however, that

December 31 would be no exception, with a ban on New Year’s Eve parties.

Read more HERE: Hungary’s restrictions to stay in place until Jan 11

Restrictions in Hungary

Between 9am and 11am on weekdays and 8am and 10am on weekends, customers below that age are banned from shopping in grocery shops, household chemists and pharmacies. Senior citizens have the right to shop at any time.

On November 10, lawmakers extended the government’s special powers by 90 days, allowing the government to suspend the application of some legislation, diverge from legal provisions and take other extraordinary measures by decree.

A decree made commercial P+Rs, parking garages and parking lots in residential areas free of charge from 7:00 in the evening until 7:00 in the morning.

Soldiers are helping the police in carrying out their duties in public areas. Soldiers have also been assigned to help out staff in 93 hospitals around Hungary. The curfew is in force between 8pm and 5am, and work carried out beyond the home must be justified. With the exception of pharmacies and petrol stations, shops can be open until 7pm.

Hairdressers, masseurs and personal trainers must observe general curfew rules. Family and private events including birthday celebrations can be held with a maximum of ten people attending.

A major new rule is that face masks must be worn in public spaces in localities with more than 10,000 residents, though it is up to local mayors to decide which spaces the rule applies to.

Restaurants are limited to offering takeaways, while hotels are not allowed to cater to tourists, only guests arriving for business, economic or educational purposes. Sports events must be held behind closed doors.

Also, leisure facilities such as fitness gyms, indoor swimming pools, museums, libraries, cinemas, zoos and skating rinks must suspend their services. Events, including cultural events and Christmas fairs, cannot be held under the special rules.