Labour shortage: you can’t give birth in one of Budapest’s biggest hospitals!
This weekend you will not be able to give birth at Budapest’s biggest hospital, the Szent Imre Hospital, due to labour shortage, Hungarian media writes. The institution suggests mothers-to-be visit other hospitals in Budapest, provided their labour starts.
Labour shortage hitting hard the Hungarian healthcare sector
From 16 September to 18 September, there will be no admissions to the department of obstetrics and gynaecology of the Szent Imre Hospital in Budapest. Mothers-to-be may go to the Szent János Hospital, the Clinical Centre of the Semmelweis University or the South-Pest Hospital Centre, blikk.hu reported.
Based on the information of HVG, a severe labour shortage is behind the decision of the Szent Imre Hospital. A former MP, Andrea Varga-Damm wrote on Facebook that the situation is similar in the hospitals of Veszprém and Szombathely, West Hungary.
One-jab Pfizer vaccine to be administered to health-care workers first
A new, one-jab coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, of which Hungary has so far received 109,000 doses, will be first used as a booster for vaccinated health-care workers, the official website koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday. The vaccine will be available for the Hungarian public from next week, the website said.
Furthermore, government offices are also polling demand in elderly care homes, it said. Hungary has ordered 9.5 million doses of the vaccine in a European Union purchase programme launched in wake of the spread of the Omicron variant. It is expected to receive 3 million doses this year and 6.5 million in 2023. Of the latter, 1.5 million doses will be optimised for children, the website said.
Read alsoYouth disability centre opened in South Hungary — PHOTOS
Youth disability centre opened in South Hungary — PHOTOS
President Katalin Novák opened a new building of the Gemma centre for children and young people with disabilities in Szeged, in southern Hungary, on Wednesday.
“A disease is a burden, but a child is a gift,” Novák said in her opening speech. Addressing parents at the ceremony, the president said “we cannot bear your burden, but we are here and could be of help”.
Novák cited passages in the constitution aimed at protecting human life from conception, and said “let us take that seriously; let us actually protect life from the moment of conception… let us be there all along, standing by human life… both when it is not so obvious that we are not perfect, and when imperfections are more manifest”.
The project, using a budget of 500 million forints (EUR 1.2m), has increased the Gemma complex to 1,400 square metres. Ninety-one children study in its primary school, while another 40 youth go to its day-care facility.
Read alsoHungarian real estate market to turn upside down in the next months
Hungarians outraged: people had to pay to see their deceased loved ones in a hospital
In the Aladár Petz Teaching Hospital in Győr, everybody had to pay HUF 5,500 (EUR 13.6) if they wanted to see the dead body of their loved ones. After the Hungarian media reported the issue, many were shocked and called the strange practise unethical. In August, the National Healthcare Service Center (Országos Kórházi Főigazgatóság) banned that practise. But index.hu looked into the case to answer the questions: who the body of the deceased belongs to in Hungary and whose obligation is to organise the burial. Below you may read their findings.
A questionable hospital practise
Interestingly, the Hungarian laws do not forbid making people pay if they want to see the body of their deceased loved ones. However, such practises raise serious ethical problems, theologist and ethics teacher Zoltán Richárd Németh told index.hu.
His standpoint correlates with the one of the National Healthcare Service Center, which finally banned it for the Hungarian hospitals. However, they will not start an ethical investigation into the issue like the Hungarian Medical Chamber. Mr Nemes said the corpse of the dead belongs to the relatives in charge of the funeral. Though it sounds profane, nobody can ask for money from us to see our remains.
Of course, we pay for other services like the cooling or processing of the deceased. However, the relatives must be able to get to the body to, for example, retrieve a valuable ring without becoming a ghoul. Regardless of the value of such assets, they become the property of the relatives only after the probate proceeding. Nemes said that it raised severe moral scruples if an institution or an individual asked for money to allow relatives to see their deceased loved ones.
Who does the body of the deceased belong?
A mortician said that in the case of open-casket funerals, relatives were not required to pay to see the deceased. However, we must pay for that in the crematoriums. The hospital in Győr did not share information on how high their income was thanks to their practise and whether they would reimburse the collected sums.
A former member of the Constitutional Court of Hungary, Barnabás Lenkovics, said that the human body was not considered ‘property’ in a modern legal system. Therefore, it is not the asset of the mortician, the crematorium, the relatives or the hospital. Then who has to organise its burial? If not defined in the testament or other agreements, the relatives are responsible for the order of legal inheritance.
Read alsoNorwegian swimmer almost died at a Budapest hospital: nobody spoke English
A Hungarian woman woke up from coma after nine years
After nine years in a coma, a Hungarian woman finally woke up. She became seriously ill due to a viral infection in the hospital. Now, her condition began to improve.
A bacteria caused the coma
As Index reports, after an operation to remove a benign brain tumor, Katalin Varga was attacked by bacteria in the hospital. As a result, she became completely paralysed and fell into a conscious coma. According to his mother, her condition has improved.
“When I tell her to open her mouth if she understands, she does so. If I ask her to close it, she does so. […]. We can already have her seated outside, but she also started to move her legs on her own during physiotherapy. Small changes, but they mean a lot.” – said the mother. She has hopes that her daughter will recover fully one day.
Read alsoTop 50 Hungarian criminal caught in Germany
Awake after nine years
“Three specialists have already confirmed that she was not in a coma. It was an awfully long process, it didn’t happen overnight. The breakthrough came after nine years of suffering.” – Éva Kistaj (mother) told Blikk. Although she is not yet able to take care of herself, she is at least responding to some things. She has entered a so-called minimal state of consciousness.
The father of her children sued her while in coma
Meanwhile, the woman in coma also faced a court case. The father of her children sued her for not paying child support. Finally, the court decided that the woman had to pay. And supposedly, she still owes the money to the children’s father. Although it sounds cruel that someone in a coma can be obligated to pay child support, this was the legal decision. Dr. Dániel Tran explained to Blikk: “The parent who raises and takes care of the child can ask for child support. The other party’s child support obligation takes precedence over all other obligations. This cannot be jeopardized by other claims or debts. It sounds surreal, but in this case, the woman in a conscious coma is obliged to pay at the expense of her own well-being.”
Read alsoBudapest tourist ships in emergency due to low water levels
Minister acknowledged that COVID might return at fall in Hungary
The Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Hatvan announced on Facebook that a curfew has been imposed due to the epidemiological situation. The hospital confirmed this by telephone. The ban also applies to relatives and companions of patients arriving at the emergency department, and special visit requests can be made by email. Could this mean another wave of the pandemic is upon us? Continue reading below for more details.
The Albert Schweitzer Hospital made the announcement in a Facebook post, Telex reported. The ban also applies to relatives and companions of patients arriving at the emergency department, and special visit requests can be made by email. The institution justified the ban on the grounds of the epidemiological situation.
Visit restrictions in Hungary’s hospitals?
Hospital bans were commonplace during the worst of the outbreak, but this is the first such measure in the domestic health sector since the fourth wave subsided this spring.
While it is not worth drawing any grand conclusions from a hundred Facebook comments, the hospital’s post is notable for the high proportion and hysterical tone of the reactions that the epidemic restriction measures are in fact part of a backroom genocide plan. This does not bode well if the epidemic becomes serious again and mask-wearing or similar protective measures need to be brought back.
Furthermore, János Lázár, the minister of construction and investment, acknowledged to Blikk that he expected the COVID’s return this fall. Therefore, they need financial resources to prepare for that.
Expert advises everyone to practice more caution
A significant number of European countries have been hit by the sixth wave of the coronavirus, and some experts say Hungary is no exception, writes Blikk. Virologist Miklós Rusvai believes it is important to take precautions but says there is no need for concern at the moment. “I don’t see any reason for epidemiological restrictions for the time being,” the virologist told Ripost, adding that the amount of coronavirus in wastewater will determine when to expect the epidemic to spread more rapidly.
Miklós Rusvai also said that according to foreign observations, the mask cannot prevent the spread of the current virus variant. Since the burden on the health care system is not currently increasing due to the coronavirus, the government does not consider the restriction justified. However, some experts warn that with the current sub-variant, there is a risk of thrombosis and stroke for up to six months after infection.
Norwegian swimmer almost died at a Budapest hospital: nobody spoke English
“If my mother had not come to Budapest, I do not think I would have survived”, one of Norway’s best swimmers said after he was released from a Budapest hospital. Below you can read his shocking story highlighting why foreign language knowledge would be crucial in the Hungarian healthcare system.
Norwegian swimmer in trouble in Budapest
The best Norwegian breaststroke swimmer, André Klippenberg Grindheim, reported about a horrific calvary on his Instagram. He came to the FINA 2022 aquatics world championships in Budapest but could not compete in the tournament because he fell ill after he stepped on Hungarian ground. The 22-year-old athlete said in a recent Instagram post that he almost died in the hospital. But you would never guess the reason why.
Grindheim wrote that the Hungarian hospital released him last Monday, 24.hu reported. The Norwegian champion won his qualification last year. However, not long after his arrival, on June 24, he had to call the ambulance because of severe pain in his stomach. It swelled as much as if he was expecting twins.
Nobody told him whether he will survive
He was expecting the arrival of the ambulance, but hours passed. When they came, he was shocked that their English proficiency was almost zero. In the hospital, it became clear that a segment of his intestines was dead because an internal hernia-caused inflammation that spread to his appendix.
“I only remember before the surgery that the doctor says either they do the operation or I have only hours left. It was difficult to wait for the anaesthesia without being told whether I have a chance to wake up,”
he wrote.
Thankfully, the appendix surgery was successful, but the torture did not end. The swimmer got severe pneumonia at the hospital and was infected by the coronavirus. However,
the healthcare employees did not take the symptoms seriously.
Her mother’s thermomether saved his life
Fortunately, his mother brought a thermometer, so she told the unusually high body temperature to the staff. After a blood test, it was clear that the high CRP level is the result of an inflammation.
Afterwards, it was clear that the 22-year-old athlete had pneumonia. Grindheim said
he lost 6 kilograms in just 1.5 weeks.
He was released last Monday and flew back to Norway.
“Being at the hospital in Budapest was very difficult. I could barely communicate with those who treated me,” he complained. He said he was thankful that his mother could spend that time with him. She worked as a nurse for a while, and the Norwegian swimmer said he did not think he would not have survived without her. He experessed no gratitude towards the Hungarian nurses and doctors in his post.
Obesity affects shockingly high rate of people in Hungary
Obesity has become endemic in Hungary, where almost 60 percent of the population is concerned. Among the reasons we can list the coronavirus, the lockdowns and the home office. In the last two years, Hungarians ate more but moved less. The result is that significantly more people struggle with overweight than prior to the pandemic.
According to index.hu, almost 60 percent of Hungary’s population struggle with overweight or obesity. The coronavirus epidemic only worsened the statistics. In the last two years, the average weight increase concerning Hungarians was 4-5 kilos, Róbert J. Bedros, the director of the Szent Imre Hospital, a fellow teacher of the University of Pécs and founder of the institution’s obesity department, told the Hungarian media outlet.
Regarding the way the pandemic affected the weight increase of Hungarians, the professor could not share any good news. He said they published a relevant study with his colleagues one year ago.
They named the problem “COVID-type obesity.”
Their writing was a success, quoted by many of their fellow researchers.
They said that ‘home office’ meant mostly ‘kitchen office’. Thanks to that, most people ate significantly more. Meanwhile, the amount of exercise decreased drastically because of the lockdowns. Hungarians eat 68 percent more snacks, while the time spent on sports suffered a 54 percent reduction. On the other hand, people would like to continue the home office. Therefore, the above-described issue is not expected to disappear with the end of the pandemic/lockdowns.
Professor Bedros said that people could gain weight very easily. For example, if we eat only 125 kcal more per week, that can mean one plus kilo every year. And that amount of energy equals a slice of bread with butter.
The obesity department he founded at the University of Pécs is new both in Europe and the world.
Professor Bedros listed among the causes that Hungary is one of the most obese countries in the European Union, which can result in serious health risks concerning its population. The department will operate in the Szent Imre Hospital (Pécs) and the Dél-Budai Cetrumkórház (South Buda Central Hospital) in Budapest. In Budapest, they created special operating rooms and hospital rooms to provide proper care for obese patients.
He said that researchers had tried to find genes responsible for obesity, but they were unsuccessful. There are promising drugs inducing satiety, for example, Tirzepatide, that received the approval of the US authorities. However, it takes time until European countries allow them. Another example is Liraglutide.
He said that crash diets are dangerous and unhealthy.
We can expect ideal results if women limit their daily energy input to around 1,200 kcal. This number is 1,500 kcal in the case of men. The other important element is regular physical activity. In the beginning, walking for 100 minutes distributed to 4-5 days a week (meaning 20 minutes per day) is enough.
Read also Number of monkeypox cases in Hungary revealed
Number of monkeypox cases in Hungary revealed
Hungary has so far confirmed 12 cases of monkeypox, with 6 recorded in the past few days, the national public health authority (NNK) said on Friday.
All the patients are male, the youngest 28 and the oldest 43 years old, with most living in Budapest, the NNK said. None require hospitalisation, and
each person is isolating at home,
it added.
Read alsoHeroic: 8-year-old Hungarian boy saves his grandmother’s life
Heroic: 8-year-old Hungarian boy saves his grandmother’s life
“Hello, ambulance! Come quickly, my grandmother is not breathing,” the little boy called.
An eight-year-old boy in Dég, a village in Fejér County, asked for the help of the ambulance on Tuesday. While they were playing together, his 65-year-old grandmother suddenly fell with her chair and did not move. The child did not lose consciousness for a second and immediately called 112, the National Ambulance Service wrote on its Facebook page.
With the help of an experienced rescue officer from Székesfehérvár Rescue Management, the boy examined his grandmother, who was no longer breathing.
The rescue manager immediately alerted the nearest rescue unit and the ambulance helicopter. In the meantime, the boy ran out into the street and waved down the first driver, who readily rushed to help and started chest compressions, as hirado.hu reports.
“Our colleagues from Enying also arrived on the scene within minutes and started advanced resuscitation. They were soon joined by the ambulance helicopter crew. They fought together for the patient’s life for a long time, which finally led to success and the woman was airlifted to hospital in a stable condition,”
they wrote.
“This makes me feel like I’m in the right place in my life! It gives me great energy that there are still real heroes out there! It’s exemplary when an eight-year-old knows what to do!” – said the helicopter paramedic emotionally.
Disturbing details emerged about the Croatian newborn found in Hungary
A Croatian woman gave birth and then abandoned her child in a Hungarian vineyard near Pécs. If the story itself is not disturbing enough, now more upetting details have emerged.
The horrible story
As we have reported before, Hungarian police found a newborn in the Márfa vineyard, not far from Pécs, Southeastern Hungary. Hungarian police started an investigation against a Croatian woman for attempted murder. The authorities suspect that the woman abandoned her newborn baby on purpose.
The little girl was alone in a blackberry bush for a whole day.
The baby was found by the police, dehydrated and cold. She was taken to hospital but eventually died. The Croatian woman was working as a day labourer in the vineyard, and tenyek.hu understands that she may have been keeping her pregnancy a secret.
Police found her
As the we can learn from the video of tenyek.hu, the little girl was whimpering softly when the police found her in the bush. At that time, the baby, abandoned by her mother, was still alive. The little girl had been alone in the open for a day before she was found.
Croatian police notified their Hungarian colleagues last midnight that the hospital of Eszék provided medical care for a 31-year-old local woman who gave birth to her child the previous afternoon and went home afterwards.
The mother first claimed to have given birth to the baby girl in Beremend, then wrapped her up and hid her in a bin. The police searched the village, then the surrounding villages, but could not find her.
“Later, on the morning of the 16th, another piece of information came in, that the woman had said that she was working as a day labourer in the vineyard in Márfa and that she had given birth and hidden her newborn there,”
a police officer said.
Tragedy
The little girl was eventually found in a blackberry bush. A police officer with medical qualifications was also involved in the search.
“We found blood-suspicious dirt that made us think we were in the right place. Then we found a piece of placenta and later, in the early afternoon, we found the baby in a blackberry bush, in a pretty bad state, but moving, moaning,”
added the police officer.
The little girl, who was cold and dehydrated, was immediately treated by the police. An ambulance helicopter also arrived on the scene. The baby was taken to hospital. The little girl eventually died in hospital. The woman is being investigated by police for manslaughter of a person under the age of 14. She could go to prison for the rest of her life.
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4-year-old girl died after she was accidentally trapped in a schoolbus
The driver was transporting preschoolers by bus, in which a little girl from Tiszaderzs was accidentally locked up. Later, she lost her life in the hospital. The driver is now in need of psychiatric treatment.
3-day-fight for life
The little girl was locked in the bus for nearly 8 hours. More specifically, from half past eight in the morning until three in the afternoon. Inez was already unconscious when they found her. An ambulance helicopter arrived immediately and they fought for at least an hour to stabilize her condition – blikk.hu reported.
Doctors fought for the little girl’s life for three days, but unfortunately, they couldn’t save her.
The whole country is shaken by the terrible tragedy.
The bus driver was made responsible
Naturally, the driver of the minibus was blamed beacuse of what happened. According to the man, he was unaware that the girl was left in the vehicle. The driver repeatedly threatened to end his life with his own hands after learning: Inez was transported to Debrecen by a rescue helicopter in a serious condition.
As rtl.hu reports, the 56-year-old man is being treated at a hospital in Szolnok. Locals say he got a nervous breakdown.
Locals also revealed that they know the bus driver as an ordinary, hard-working man who has long had this profession. They do not understand how this tragedy could happen.
How to prevent tragedies like this?
“We think that for such a task, when there is no escort in the vehicle, it is the joint task and responsibility of the kindergarten teacher or the driver to check on arrival if there is anything left, not just someone, but something, a bag of medicine, anything else in the vehicle,”
– said Imre Kulcsár from the Hungarian Road Transport Association (MKFE).
Read also Third anniversary of Danube tourist boat tragedy marked – PHOTOS
World-renowned Hungarian neurosurgeon dismissed from Honvédkórház
His name is known all over the world. Some of the most renowned professors want to learn from him. István Hudák, neurosurgeon, who two years ago was awarded a high state honour, has now had his contract terminated by Honvédkórház (Military Hospital). Read more about him below!
This is not the first time that István Hudák’s name has been in the media, it was his surgery on the twins in Bangladesh that made him a household name. He is invited to operate all over the world, and professors watch his movements to learn the methods he has developed, reports Index.
He managed to separate the fused brain vessels of the Bangladeshi twins, which allowed the skulls to be separated. Two years ago, he was awarded a high national award and now his contract at Honvédkórház has been terminated.
István Hudák, a neurosurgeon, tells Válasz Online that doctors don’t always go abroad for higher wages. Sometimes they are forced to.
The interview with the Hungarian neurosurgeon
After so many professional successes and accolades, Honvédkórház sadly terminated his contract, which he does not yet understand why. He tried to find the reason why he was dismissed without any warning.
Out of nowhere, he received a letter saying that his contract was being terminated. He was informed of his dismissal not in person, but by postal letter. As it turned out, another doctor arrived at the same time as his dismissal at Honvédkórház, of which he knew nothing. He said he was emotionally uncomfortable about the incident, but tries to look on the bright side.
“If you can see your opponent, you can recognise them. If you fight in a fog, you don’t know who you’re up against. I just got a letter saying they’re cancelling the contract, even though the commander had personally honoured me in the past.” – says István Hudák.
He will probably go abroad, but he will do his best to continue his practice in Hungary somehow. His devotion to his patients is noteworthy. He had many patients. Even the day before his interview he was operating until almost midnight.
“I’ve always travelled a lot, but I loved coming home. It’s different to see the beautiful landscapes or taste the famous foreign foods when you know you’re going home. People are waiting for you to come home. I have had many opportunities abroad, but I have a family, a house, and a home. I don’t want to leave it.” – Hudák finishes.
American man pretended to be Joe Biden in Budapest
The heavily drunk 45-year-old American man claimed to be Joe Biden, President of the United States of America.
A few days ago, the National Ambulance Service was alerted to a guest in a Budapest hotel. The American man needed medical aid due to an injury. After the ambulance staff arrived at the scene, they were greeted with an extremely warm welcome. The heavily drunk man invited them in for a whisky. The paramedics refused the invitation and started treating the patient. However, the comedy did not end there.
When they asked about the identity of the person, they received an extremely surprising answer.
The 45-year-old man claimed to be Joe Biden, President of the United States of America.
While the paramedics were treating the injury, the man started to give a live concert and began to entertain the audience with well-known American songs. On the way to the hospital, he recalled some Elvis hits, a Tina Turner song and Britney Spears’s “Oops!… I did it again”. The concert went on in the hospital as well, and even those waiting in the emergency room were able to enjoy it for a short while, reported Hungarian news portal Index.
Despite the ridiculous circumstances, the incident ended without any damage.
Read also: Drunk man destroyed a public bookcase because he thought it was a drinks machine
Unlike in the case of the 16-year old girl who took a driving lesson from her boyfriend after a few glasses of whiskey. The irresponsible teenagers met in the early evening in Budapest’s city centre where they drank and then drove off in the boy’s car to Shipyard Island. There, the girl took the wheel, and they soon crashed into a tree. After the collision, the drunk girl got out of the car and ran away. Her boyfriend went to look for her. The teenager claimed that he was only trying to teach his girlfriend to drive, who, considering her age, should not even have a driving licence yet. The 16-year-old girl was eventually found by patrols in the nearby woods. After the incident, both of them were breathalysed. Fortunately, the reckless teenagers suffered only minor injuries, and paramedics took them both to hospital, reported Blikk.
After receiving medical treatment, the boy was questioned by the local police station as a suspect for the misdemeanour of unauthorised transfer of a vehicle. The boy confessed to the crime he was charged with. The girl was prosecuted for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Read alsoDrunken teenager wanted to escape policemen, ended up stuck in car wreck
Every second test positive in the last 24h
Altogether 32 patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 1,399 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Tuesday.
So far 6,406,150 people have received a first jab, while 6,192,142 have been double-jabbed. Fully 3,861,353 Hungarians have received a booster third shot and 285,137 a fourth shot.
The number of active infections went down to 56,928, while hospitals are treating 1,499 Covid-19 patients, 37 of whom are intubated on a ventilator.
Since the first outbreak, 1,895,677 have been registered with the virus, while 46,133 deaths have been recorded. Fully 1,792,616 people have made a recovery.
According to index.hu, out of 2,629 tests, 1,399 were positive, which is 52.3 pc.
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Hungarian 8-year-old saved his mother’s life!
The police shared a phone conversation between an 8-year-old Hungarian boy and a dispatcher of the National Ambulance Service.
Máté’s bravery saved his mother’s life
According to hvg.hu, without Máté’s presence of mind in those critical minutes, his mother would most likely be dead. “Máté is a real hero. He was aware of everything, he’s got guts. His mother can thank her life to him,” the ambulance and police praised the 8-year-old Hungarian boy. He knew what to do when there was trouble and immediately called the ambulance.
Although it is difficult to think clearly in such situations, Máté was able to tell the ambulance what happened, as well as the address and what pills his mother uses for her heart problem after his mother collapsed. “The boy was not afraid even when his mother was in a bad condition. These were tense moments, but the operator and the ambulance rescue team leader remained with the family. It will be something they will never forget,” the police wrote.
They drew attention in their post to what everybody should tell the operators in such situations:
- Name
- Address
- What happened? Why do you need help?
And since we wrote about healthcare and danger…
These are the latest COVID numbers from Hungary
A total of 24 patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 2,047 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Friday. So far, 6,405,472 people received their first jab, while 6,191,345 have been double-jabbed. 3,858,487 Hungarians have received a booster shot, and 281,150 got their fourth shot.
The number of active infections went down to 68,288, while hospitals are treating 1,449 Covid-19 patients, 45 of whom are intubated on a ventilator. Since the first outbreak, 1,890,953 have been registered with the virus, while 46,048 deaths have been recorded. A total of 1,776,617 people have made a recovery.
Read alsoFamous Hungarian salami counterfeits sold at Budapest market – PHOTOS, VIDEO
Number of active infections continue to decrease – Hungary is safe
Altogether 24 patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 3,041 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday.
So far 6,405,342 people have received a first jab, while 6,191,154 have been double-jabbed. Fully 3,857,876 Hungarians have received a booster third shot and 280,159 a fourth shot.
The number of active infections went down to 72,816, while hospitals are treating 1,500 Covid-19 patients, 48 of whom are intubated on a ventilator.
Since the first outbreak, 1,888,906 have been registered with the virus, while 46,024 deaths have been recorded. Fully 1,770,066 people have made a recovery.
Read alsoHungarian GP: Ukrainian refugees bring AIDS, tuberculosis, measles
Dubai millionaire saved the life of his bodyguard in Hungary
The bodyguard of a Dubai millionaire collapsed without any pre-existing health conditions. The ambulance fought for the life of the 45-year-old man for more than an hour. However, he would not have had a chance if it had not been for the Dubai millionaire he worked for.
The National Ambulance Service reported about the incident on their Facebook page. They wrote that the Dubai millionaire was in Hungary during the weekend. The purpose of his stay was to take part in a business negotiation. However, the meeting had to be interrupted because his 45-year-old bodyguard suddenly collapsed. Furthermore, the ambulance service wrote on their Facebook page that the bodyguard was in good health and had no preliminary conditions.
Ambulance said that the Middle Eastern businessman probably had some medical knowledge since he immediately offered first aid to the man. He quickly determined that the 45-year-old man did not breathe and began CPR.
Meanwhile, his business partners called the ambulance which arrived on the spot within minutes. They struggled for the life of the man for more than an hour. However, thanks to the immediately started CPR, they were successful. The combined effort managed to save his life.
Finally, they transported the bodyguard to the hospital in stable condition. The Dubai millionaire thanked the National Ambulance Service on Monday in an email addressed to the general director.
Economic crisis – Budapest Airport, Paks II and more projects to be postponed?
Viktor Orbán may have to let go of Budapest Airport, the super-hospital, the circular railway, Paks II and the Diákváros (Student City) as part of the forthcoming austerity measures.
Budapest Airport
There is no doubt that there will be some austerity measures in the coming period. The questions are where and how they will be implemented. László Molnár, CEO of GKI Gazdaságkutató Zrt., told mfor.hu:
“It seems obvious that Viktor Orbán does not want to purchase back Budapest Airport Zrt in the foreseeable future – at least a year and a half. Officially, this would not be public investment, but the loan part would affect the state budget.”
Molnár added that the government simply does not have the resources, because now, among other things, it has to raise pensions and deal with the compensation for the cuts in public utility bills.
In October last year, the government made a HUF 1 500 billion (EUR 3.95 billion) bid for the company operating the airport. Since then, however, tourism has started to pick up and the traffic at Budapest Airport is improving.
Thus, the later negotiations start, the higher the price will be, which is already higher than last October.
Super-hospital
The South Buda super-hospital is also a large project. Last summer, the head of the company that invested in the project told mfor.hu that the contstruction would cost about HUF 300 billion (EUR ~791 million). According to László Molnár, however, there is a strong consensus among health economists that it would be better to develop the existing hospital infrastructure rather than build a large hospital in a new location.
Paks II
When asked by mfor.hu about his opinion on the future of the Paks II project, László Molnár said he saw two possible scenarios.
- The NER companies, already involved in the project, will complete the preparatory work. This may take another year or two. In the meantime, it will become clear how strict the Western economic sanctions turn out to be. However, Rosatom will start construction, and the government will somehow manage to pay back the Russian investor in a roundabout way while also preferably negotiating the linked loan to be more favourable.
- Western companies, such as French ones, could be involved in the construction of the new block. It could be also beneficial if the EU classified nuclear energy as green-rated and thus green financing could be obtained. This would be a great gesture towards the EU which could also promote how environmentally friendly and sustainable the Orbán government is.
Finally, he said,
As a consequence of all this, the construction industry may also face fewer orders from the public sector. Earlier this week, the National Federation of Hungarian Building Contractors (ÉVOSZ) indicated that there could be approximately HUF 500 billion (EUR 1.3 billion) loss in state orders this year. A further HUF 100-200 billion (EUR 264-528 million) in orders cannot come in either because local governments will be in an even worse position than earlier. The best decision they can make is to postpone planned investments if they do not want to take out loans.
Ongoing projects
Even though a number of projects have been put on hold, there are still some that are in progress. One is the Budapest-Belgrade railway line, the other is the athletics stadium project.
According to mfor.hu, on the Soroksár-Kunszentmiklós-Tass section of the railway line, the number of P+R parking spaces will increase by at least 240 and the number of B+R bicycle parking spaces by at least 300.
The Finance Minister should allocate around HUF 3.3 billion (EUR 8.7 million) for various noise protection and other technical preparation work over the next three years.
The construction of the leisure park and sports fields next to the new athletics stadium is planned to be completed by next year’s World Athletics Championships. The government has given HUF 24.5 billion (EUR 64.7 million) to speed up the process.
