Slovakia: full-capacity football matches in Budapest might spread Indian variant

In Hungary and in the world press, we mostly hear about how good it was to have a full-house match in Budapest at the European Championship. However, not everyone is overjoyed. According to the Slovak Ministry of Health, it could have serious epidemiological consequences.

On Tuesday, June 15, more than 60,000 fans were in the Puskás Arena at the Hungary-Portugal football match. Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was also pleased with the full-house match. In addition, there was more news in the world press of how looking at the pictures of the match was like before COVID-19.

The Slovak Ministry of Health fears the match could spread the Indian variant in the region.

This is because the number of infections in Portugal has increased in recent days – just when hundreds of Portuguese fans came to Budapest for the match where they were without a mask together with tens of thousands of Hungarian fans. The Slovak Ministry of Health warns that despite the good epidemic situation in Hungary, such an event could immediately increase the number of infections. The fourth wave of the coronavirus could be a real threat not only in Hungary but also in the whole region, including Slovakia.

Telex.hu writes that Zuzana Eliášová, a spokesperson for the ministry, asks the Slovak visitors of the match to register for a free PCR test. Portugal has previously been attacked from several places for opening its borders too soon due to the start of the tourist season. This is how the Indian variant was introduced and spread. This is how the Indian variant came to Portugal and spread.

The Indian variant spreads faster and has a more severe course than the British variant.

Approved vaccines also protect against this coronavirus variant, based on research findings. However, the effectiveness of the vaccine may be lower. The Slovak government is trying to prevent a fourth wave. To this end, the Minister of Health said they would consider making vaccination mandatory, writes 24.hu. Mandatory vaccination would not apply to everyone. According to current plans, vaccination would be mandatory in Slovakia for certain age groups or professions.

Source: telex.hu, 24.hu