Orbán: ‘We’re on the attack; virus in retreat’

There has been a turning point in the pandemic situation in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview to public radio on Friday. “So far the virus has been on the attack and we’ve been in retreat, but now we’re on the attack and the virus is in retreat,” he said.

Orbán warned, however, that the situation had deteriorated in the past 3-4 days, with 1,576 new Covid cases and 98 deaths from Thursday to Friday. He noted that 3,638 Covid patients are in hospital, 302 on ventilators, and that the situation had stagnated, and even some deterioration could be seen.

So far, 264,530 people have received at least the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and some 92,000 people have been given both shots, Orbán told Kossuth Radio.

“If everything goes to plan” the number of people who have been given at least one shot and those who have had Covid will have exceeded one million by early March, while everyone over the age of 60 who has registered for vaccination will be inoculated by March 15.

Nearly 2 million people could be vaccinated by early April, he said.

The prime minister said his calculations were based on vaccine shipments that were “highly likely” to be received, adding that the vaccine from Russia could be used as early as next week. The Chinese vaccine is “also on its way”, he said, adding that further tests by the Hungarian authorities would have to be carried out, however. He also noted that Serbia’s experiences with both the Russian and Chinese vaccines were “reassuring”.

Meanwhile, Orbán slammed the opposition for attacking the government’s crisis management measures, saying “the left wing has gone too far and crossed a line that shouldn’t be crossed for humanitarian reasons.”

Orbán said that the European Union’s vaccine purchasing was sluggish because “Brussels bureaucrats” were seeking “to get vaccines more cheaply”.

“It’s not that money is immaterial, but for us this is secondary to saving lives,” he added.

He said he understood that “everybody would like to get their old lives back” and he understood the “disappointment” of people in catering and tourism, but added that “we must proceed carefully and systematically”.

Orbán also noted that the government will launch a National Consultation public survey in the second half of February concerning issues around the easing of restrictions. He did not exclude the possibility of removing restrictions somewhat earlier for those “already protected”, but this decision, he said, would be based on the survey’s results.