hospital

Coronavirus – Hospital equipment goes missing

coronavirus bubble bed

Legal proceedings are under way in connection with the disappearance of protective equipment from three hospitals, an official said on Thursday.

The stocks missing include disinfectants, face masks, hand gels, medical gloves and IT equipment, Róbert Kiss, a spokesman of the operational board that coordinates Hungary’s response to the novel coronavirus epidemic, said.

Meanwhile, Kiss said police arrested an Iranian national who had been ordered to leave the country for breaking quarantine rules during treatment for Covid-19.

He noted that another ten Iranian citizens who have received deportation orders because they broke rules related to novel coronavirus were leaving Hungary on Thursday.

As regards epidemic-related legal action, Kiss noted that proceedings have been launched in 226 instances that include 59 cases of spreading fake news, 26 cases of endangering the public, 62 cases of fraud and 13 cases of breaking restrictive regulations.

The authorities took action over the violation of curfew rules in 19,837 instances, he noted.

The number of people ordered to stay in home quarantine has dropped to 12,737, he said.

Coronavirus – Hungarian hospitals preparing for mass infections

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Hospitals in Hungary have been ordered to free up half of their beds by April 19 in preparation for a massive increase in novel coronavirus infections, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday evening.

The data on confirmed coronavirus cases indicates a rise in infections in Hungary, the statement said, adding that hospitals will have to be prepared to treat an increasing number of patients.

The aim is to ensure that all major hospitals have enough beds to treat up to hundreds of patients at a time once the outbreak reaches the phase of mass infections, it said.

By April 19, hospitals have to free up 50 percent of their beds, enough for 32,900 patients. By the next phase, hospitals will have to have 39,500 beds ready for Covid-19 patients, or 60 percent of their bed capacity.

The aim of the regulation is to avoid situations seen in other countries where sudden spikes in coronavirus cases left hospitals without enough beds to treat patients, the website said. “Hospitals are being prepared for a worst-case scenario,” it said.

Hospitals within the same county have been given permission to transfer patients amongst themselves.

The statement said the instruction to free up beds did not mean that all non-Covid-19 patients would be discharged. Patients are released based on a decision by their doctors as well as on the basis of health protocols, it added.

Coronavirus – 8 new fatalities, number of registered cases rises to 1,652

Another 8 patients, mostly elderly people suffering from chronic diseases, have died in Hungary and the number of registered novel coronavirus infections has risen by 73 to 1,652 in a single day, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday morning. So far, there have been 142 fatalities and 199 people have left hospital after recovery.

There are 12,737 people in hospital or home quarantine, and 38,489 coronavirus tests have been conducted at accredited laboratories.

The epidemic is now at the stage of being spread through communities, and the virus could be present anywhere and infect anyone, the website said, warning that the actual number of people carrying the virus is much higher than the number of registered carriers.

The elderly, students and people returning from abroad must stay at home, it said.

Everyone must observe the curfew restrictions which the government has extended indefinitely, it added.

Budapest has the highest number of infections (805), followed by Pest County (249) and Fejer county (122).

Two-year-old infected with COVID-19 in Hungary

rtl híradó erzsébet hospital coronavirus

Not even two weeks after Prime Minister Orbán visited a hospital in Sátoraljaújhely, a two-year-old was brought there and diagnosed with coronavirus.

A two-year-old toddler was brought in to a hospital by the parents, despite the doctor’s orders to call an ambulance. The child was examined by the hospital’s only paediatrician and suspected of having Croup, reported RTL Híradó.

The doctor and two nurses who came into contact with the toddler wore masks and gloves. After testing positive for coronavirus, the child was transported to a hospital in Nyíregyháza by paramedics.

The doctor and two nurses are now in quarantine, and the children’s ward of the hospital is closed off for two weeks. The children were transported to a hospital in Miskolc in the meantime, according to the hospital’s website.

The Ministry of Human Resources has since reported, that the coronavirus tests of the doctor and nurses turned out to be negative, however, there will be a follow up testing to make absolutely sure.

Hungarian mobile epidemic hospital is ready to take in COVID-19 patients

Kiskunhalas Container Hospital Konténer Kórház

We wrote on the 25th of March that the construction of a mobile epidemic hospital in Kiskunhalas, central Hungary, has been progressing well, but finally, on the 11th of April, this Saturday, the epidemic hospital to treat COVID-19 patients was finished and Viktor Orbán visited the site, Hvg reported.

The container hospital is planned to accommodate 150 patients and can serve and support any need of general healthcare and professional epidemiological functions. It was set up on the site of the Kiskunhalas National Prison, but further away from the complex, on a separate location. Previously on the site were container barracks, so the place was perfect because all utilities needed to build the hospital were already available, said Hellovidék.

Viktor Orbán uploaded a video to his Facebook page where he visits the now finished container hospital the capacity of which conforms to the targeted 150 hospital beds.

Orbán also said that “if necessary, we can build a container hospital in two and a half weeks and it is possible to build eight to ten of such hospitals in Hungary at once”.

Because it is a mobile epidemic hospital, there are depressurised and overpressurised zones to prevent pathogens from escaping the facility. If you are interested, you can see how this state-of-the-art facility looks like, here is the original video:

https://www.facebook.com/orbanviktor/videos/528613601137019/

We try to provide as much fresh news for you as possible. If you are interested in the situation in Hungary, you could start with these two articles:

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Read alsoCoronavirus – Orbán: Self-control ‘strongest weapon’

Coronavirus – Number of confirmed cases 1,410, 14 new deaths

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The number of registered Covid-19 cases in Hungary has risen to 1,410, while 14 patients died in a single day, koronavirus.gov.hu reported on Sunday morning.

According to the government website, the total number of deaths caused by Covid-19 so far has reached 99 and there have been a total of 118 recoveries.

Fully 198 cases have been confirmed in the Budapest’s Pesti Road care home where the epidemic claimed eight victims.

Currently, 15,333 people are in official home quarantine.

The number of tests carried out so far totals 33,532.

Budapest has seen the highest number of confirmed infections, with 669 cases, followed by Pest County (215).

The authorities say the virus is still being transmitted in small clusters as opposed to in larger communities, but it is present in all parts of the country.

Coronavirus – How much do tests at private health institutions cost?

Currently, there are two ways in Hungary to find out whether someone is infected with the coronavirus: at official state labs after receiving a test or at private clinics and laboratories. However, official tests are only done if the patient’s doctor considers it an absolute necessity. If the answer is no, the patient can use connections to reach a private clinic and buy a test. 

Read alsoCoronavirus – These are the most endangered counties of Hungary

Pénzcentrum reported that there are three private laboratories in Hungary where coronavirus tests can be purchased. In medicine, two tests can show viruses in the human body: one from the saliva and the other one from the blood. The first one requires seconds to do, but the results only appear after three hours. 

At private clinics, 15-minute-long quick tests are offered for patients who cannot wait that long for the results. 

Testing is efficient in discovering more infected patients and putting them into quarantine to avoid healthy people getting infected. On the other hand, it was reported that no matter its importance, Hungary does not take testing people seriously as the number of completed tests are the lowest in the region, and our daily average cannot even compete with other countries’. 

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Read alsoCoronavirus – Hungary not taking testing people seriously

The first private laboratory where coronavirus tests could be purchased was the Mikromikomed Lab. The test is 3,000 HUF (9 EUR), but additional examinations cost 28,000 HUF (76 EUR). Furthermore, if we would like to order the test and the examination into our own home, it costs an extra 15,000 HUF (40 EUR). At Rózsakert Medical Centre, the prices and methods are the same. 

The Hungarian Róbert Private Hospital advertises 15-minute-long quick tests for 30,000 HUF (81 EUR), but for 80,000 HUF (216 EUR), doctors come to our homes. 

In the future, more private hospitals and clinics would like to offer private coronavirus tests for residents; some of them also offer a discount for families with children. Although their efficiency is reportedly acceptable, and they are capable of showing infections, these private tests are not included in the official tests done by the state.

Coronavirus – Number of confirmed cases 1,310, eight new deaths

coronavirus Hungary

The number of registered Covid-19 cases in Hungary has risen to 1,310, while eight patients died in a single day, koronavirus.gov.hu reported on Saturday morning.

According to the government website, the total number of deaths caused by Covid-19 so far has reached 85 and there have been a total of 115 recoveries.

Currently, 17,490 people are in official home quarantine.

The number of tests carried out so far totals 31,961.

Budapest has seen the highest number of confirmed infections, with 655 cases, followed by Pest County (199).

The authorities say the virus is still being transmitted in small clusters as opposed to in larger communities, but it is present in all parts of the country.

For that matter, another 56 elderly people who are either confirmed or suspected as being infected by novel coronavirus have been moved from the Pesti Street care home in Budapest to St. Janos Hospital.

After a mass outbreak of illnesses in the old people’s home, the Chief Medical Officer ordered the Budapest municipality to take immediate action. On Thursday, 126 elderly residents of the care home were taken to hospital.

WHO sees a “welcome slowing” of COVID-19 infections in some hardest-hit countries in Europe

coronavirus graffiti

The World Health Organization (WHO) noticed a “welcome slowing” of COVID-19 infections in some of hardest-hit countries in Europe, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday.

“In the past week, we’ve seen a welcome slowing in some of the hardest-hit countries in Europe, like Spain, Italy, Germany and France,” the WHO chief told a regular press briefing.

However, the WHO also witnessed an “alarming acceleration” in other countries, especially in Africa, where the virus is spreading to rural areas.

“We are now seeing clusters of cases and community spread in more than 16 countries,” said Tedros, adding that there would be “severe hardship for already overstretched health systems, particularly in rural areas.”

Countries need to localize the response by urgently strengthening the existing public health and primary health care infrastructure, he urged.

The WHO chief called on the G20 to expedite their support to Africa, where the cases are “still relatively small but accelerating.”

Globally, nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 have now been reported to the WHO, as well as more than 92,000 deaths.

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Read alsoHow the coronavirus is testing the limits of European integration

Coronavirus – Mayor orders closure of Margaret Island and other leisure hotspots

coronavirus margaret island

Budapest leisure hotspots such as Margaret Island, Óbuda Island and the Római embankment will be closed every day from 8am to 10pm from Friday to Monday, Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, has announced.

Karácsony told MTI late on Thursday that the purpose of the measure was to protect Budapest residents during the Easter holidays by curbing the chance for crowds to gather in much-frequented public areas managed by the municipality.

Budapest’s chief of police has been asked to make sure the measure is enforced, he said.

Also, Karácsony instructed the Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) to suspend the bus 26 line which serves Margaret Island for four days, and for the 4-6 tram to leave out the island’s stop.

coronavirus police
Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt

Mayors nationwide enact restrictive measures over Easter

Mayors nationwide have enacted restrictive measures in Hungary over the Easter holiday.

The measures include closing parks, car parks and hiking trails, curbing the number of visitors to localities and ordering the shuttering of some shops and markets.

In a Thursday decree, the central government authorised mayors to tighten curfew rules from Good Friday to Easter Monday.

Several mayors have also asked locals to leave their homes only when justified and to postpone any visits elsewhere.

The stricter restrictions have been enacted to prevent certain areas from becoming gathering places, which would speed up the spread of the virus, the head of the operational board responsible for handling the coronavirus epidemic told an online press conference on Friday.

Another important aspect of the government decree is that local councils can set the rules for market openings with the proviso that over-65s are given an exclusive timeframe for making purchases, Tibor Lakatos said.

Meanwhile, the government is providing the Budapest municipality with protective equipment, Lakatos said. Fully 1,000 protective overalls, 20,000 surgical masks, 10,000 gloves, 50 thermometres and 500 tests were delivered to the mayor’s office on Friday, he said.

Coronavirus – Number of confirmed cases surpasses 1000, eleven new deaths!

The number of registered Covid-19 cases in Hungary has risen to 1,190, while eleven patients died in a single day, koronavirus.gov.hu reported on Thursday morning.

The eleven people who died were elderly and had chronic problems, the government website said.

According to the website, the total number of deaths caused by Covid-19 so far has reached 77 and there have been a total of 112 recoveries.

Currently, 16,006 people are in official home quarantine.

The number of tests carried out so far totals 29,948.

Budapest has seen the highest number of confirmed infections, with 580 cases, followed by Pest County (194).

The authorities say the virus is still being transmitted in small clusters as opposed to in larger communities, but it is present in all parts of the country.

Coronavirus – Restrictions to be extended indefinitely in Hungary!

coronavirus hospital hungary

The government is extending indefinitely restrictions on movement introduced two weeks ago to combat the novel coronavirus epidemic, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday.

Under the measures introduced last month, people are only allowed to leave their homes to go to work or to run essential errands. The restrictions were originally set to expire on April 11.

The government will review the effectiveness of the regulation on a weekly basis before deciding on its status, Orbán said in a statement broadcast by public news channel M1.

In addition, local mayors will be given special authority until midnight on Monday to impose their own restrictions in their municipalities during the Easter holiday, he said.

Before deciding on the extended restrictions, the cabinet was briefed by mayors on the situation in their municipalities and sought out the opinions of the police force, epidemiologists and scientists, Orbán said.

All of their reports have indicated that the restrictions imposed so far have been effective in slowing down the spread of the virus, he added.

The prime minister asked the public to respect the restrictions, avoid gatherings, maintain a safe distance from others in public spaces and look out for the elderly.

“Let’s accept that this Easter will be different from the ones we’re used to,” Orbán said, calling on Hungarians to “look after each other”.

Coronavirus – Number of confirmed cases at 980, 8 new deaths

coronavirus hospital hungary

The number of registered Covid-19 cases in Hungary has risen to 980, while eight patients died in a single day, koronavirus.gov.hu reported on Thursday morning.

The eight people who died were elderly, with the exception of a 48-year-old patient, and had chronic problems, the government website said.

According to the website, there have been a total of 96 recoveries.

Currently, 16,006 people are in official home quarantine.

The number of tests carried out so far totals 27,826.

Budapest has seen the highest number of confirmed infections, with 428 cases, followed by Pest County (183).

The authorities say the virus is still being transmitted in small clusters as opposed to in larger communities, but it is present in all parts of the country.

Coronavirus – Hungary confirmed cases at 733, two more patients die

coronavirus nurses

The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Hungary is up at 733, with another two deaths reported, according to the koronavirus.gov.hu website.

Altogether 34 people have died and 66 recovered. Fully 13,435 people are in quarantine, and 21,250 coronavirus tests have been conducted.

For that matter, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited a prison in Sátoraljaújhely, in north-eastern Hungary, to inspect the production of face masks by inmates.

In a video posted on his Facebook page, the prime minister is seen having his temperature taken before entering the facility. He is then briefed about the delivery of the machine from China that can churn out 2.8 million masks a month running 24 hours a day.

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Read alsoA new era: rental prices in Budapest started to decrease

Coronavirus – Chief medical officer: Steady infections thanks to timely response

coronavirus-Hungary

Hungary has avoided an explosion of novel coronavirus infections thanks in large part to the effective and timely response measures put in place, the chief medical officer said on Saturday.

Hungary’s preventive measures against the virus have proven effective even in international comparison, Cecília Müller told an online news conference after a meeting of the operative board coordinating the response to the epidemic.

She added, at the same time, that the country was “on the brink of mass infections”.

Müller noted that the first two confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country were registered a month ago today with two Iranian university students testing positive for the virus.

Hungary has so far reported 678 confirmed cases, she said. There were six new deaths over the past 24 hours, all of them patients suffering from chronic diseases. Five of them were around the age of 80 and one was 54, Müller added.

Regarding new response measures, she said social institutions such as nursing homes have been placed on full lockdown.

The chief medical officer asked the public to continue to comply with the curfew restrictions in spite of the arrival of warmer weather.

In response to a question, Müller said the government office has ordered an investigation into the case of a nursing home where five people were confirmed to be infected with coronavirus. The home’s residents have been quarantined in their rooms and the building has been disinfected. Residents who have displayed symptoms of Covid-19 have been hospitalised and the authorities took 200 samples in an effort to contain the virus in the home, she added.

In response to another question, she said testing capacities will be expanded and new health workers will be trained in order to ensure that the health-care system can cope with mass infections. Müller warned, however, that not all types of coronavirus tests are guaranteed to be reliable.

Tibor Lakatos, head of the emergency centre set up by the board, told the same press conference that seven aircraft were scheduled to deliver protective gear to Hungary on Saturday.

Protective equipment is constantly being unloaded and delivered to storage facilities, Tibor Lakatos told an online press conference after a meeting of the board, adding that an AN-124 military cargo plane would also be arriving from China with additional gear.

The operative board delivered protective equipment to some 50 hospitals and the police force on Friday, Lakatos said, adding that more supplies were on the way.

The authorities have ordered home quarantine in over 12,000 cases so far, he said.

Altogether 224 people have been fined for violating curfew restrictions and 1,849 people have been issued warnings. The authorities have filed misdemeanor charges against 317 people, he said.

Coronavirus – Protective gear to be delivered to hospitals

coronavirus protective gear hungary

Protective gear will be delivered to 31 hospitals and to the police on Friday, a member of the operative board responsible for the response to the novel coronavirus outbreak has said.

Róbert Kiss, an employee of the operative board’s emergency centre, said consignments of equipment are expected to land at Budapest’s Liszt Ferenc international airport on Friday and Saturday.

Regarding the organisation of hospitals, Kiss said the designated hospitals were prepared to handle mass infections.

The command plans have been updated to order all health-care workers to work if necessary, he said.

Police continue to monitor compliance with the restrictions and home quarantine measures, Kiss said. So far, they have issued some 600 warnings, fines or filed complaints against people flouting home quarantine.

Experience shows that the number of people violating the regulations tends to grow as the quarantine situation drags on, Kiss said.

The police have also taken action in connection with breaches of the new epidemic response law, which made spreading fake news regarding the epidemic punishable by law.

They filed complaints regarding 36 cases of spreading fake news, 22 of endangering the public, 33 of fraud and 10 cases of violating epidemic regulations.

Coronavirus – Confirmed cases in Hungary rise to 623, five more deaths

The number of patients confirmed to have contracted the new coronavirus in Hungary was 623 on Friday, with five more deaths, all of them elderly patients suffering from chronic diseases, the government information website for the epidemic said.

So far, 26 people have died and 43 recovered from Covid-19, koronavirus.gov.hu said.

Currently, a total of 10,668 people are in hospital and home quarantine and the authorities have taken 17,769 samples.

The website said that Hungary was in the phase of group infections when the virus spreads in communities, through personal contacts. The number of people carrying and communicating the virus may be significantly higher than the number of confirmed cases, it added.

The largest number of cases have been reported from Budapest (261) and Pest county in central Hungary (124). The smallest number has been reported from Heves county in the north (3).

Coronavirus – Police fine people repeatedly violating restrictions

coronavirus police

Police have imposed on-the-spot fines and filed criminal complaints against people who repeatedly violated the extraordinary measures introduced due to the novel coronavirus, an official of the operative board coordinating the response to the epidemic said on Thursday.

Police have issued 187 warnings to people violating curfew restrictions and also imposed 70 fines and filed 162 complaints, Tibor Lakatos, the head of the board’s emergency centre, said.

Those who repeatedly violate the rules will be fined or prosecuted, he said. Young people frequently gather in public areas and such meetings should be reduced to a minimum, he added.

Concerning “commanders” appointed to hospitals earlier this week, he said they had reported no serious insufficiencies that would threaten health services.

Commenting on prison inmates making face masks, he said that further production lines would be introduced to significantly increase production capacities. He added that no infections had been reported from any of the prisons and protective measures were in force.

He said a total of 10,668 home quarantines had been ordered by the authorities so far, and compliance has been checked more than 78,000 times. A total of 418 violations have been reported, 36 warnings have been issued, 211 fines have been imposed and legal proceedings were initiated in 341 cases.

Lakatos added that a total of 32 criminal procedures had been initiated for scaremongering, 22 for risking public alarm and 29 for fraud.