Number of new infections slowly climbing up in Hungary
Two patients died of a Covid-related illness in the past 24 hours, while 526 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday. Elderly people who have not accepted the coronavirus vaccine make up the majority of those hospitalised in the fourth wave of the pandemic in Hungary, the head infectologist of Budapest’s South Pest Central Hospital said on Thursday.
So far 5,869,259 people have received a first jab, while 5,600,425 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 667,000 Hungarians have received a booster jab. The number of active infections stands at 7,960, while hospitals are treating 411 Covid patients, 48 of whom need respiratory assistance. Since the first outbreak, 819,547 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,145. Fully 781,442 people have made a recovery.
There are 5,495 people in official quarantine, while 6,844,088 tests have been officially carried out.
“Half of those without vaccines read and spread misconceptions about the vaccine being harmful,” and are impossible to convince otherwise, János Szlávik told on public news channel M1. Groups trying to reach elderly citizens typically living alone in rural areas “are working to reach the other 50 percent”, he said.
Incentives like an immunity requirement to acces certain services may help that work,
he said.
Barring an effective medicine against Covid-19, “which needs at least two years to develop and so will be available next year at the earliest”, vaccines are the only effective way to combat the pandemic, Szlávik said, and called on parents to have their children inoculated to stop the spread of the virus.
Szlávik warned that the delta variant was much more infectuous than previous mutations.
While earlier variants spread to 3-4 people from one patient on average, the delta variant may infect as many as 7-8, he said.
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The fourth wave is not that strong in Hungary yet
Two patients died of a Covid-related illness in the past 24 hours, while 501 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Romania struggles with skyrocketing number of new infections, while Slovenia reintroduced obligatory mask wearing at the beginning of September.
So far 5,865,865 people have received a first jab, while 5,591,911 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 646,000 Hungarians have received a booster jab. The number of active infections stands at 7,740, while hospitals are treating 406 Covid patients, 46 of whom need respiratory assistance. Since the first outbreak, 819,021 infections have been registered, while
fatalities have risen to 30,143.
Fully 781,138 people have made a recovery. There are 4,825 people in official quarantine, while 6,829,896 tests have been officially carried out.
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Two babies were swapped in a Hungarian hospital – Who is to blame?
Two newborns were accidentally switched in the obstetrics department of the hospital in Hódmezővásárhely recently. Fortunately, the error was discovered rather quickly, and both babies are with their own families now.
Although a common plot device in soap operas, switched-at-birth incidents are not common since hospitals take the safety of newborns very seriously. Nonetheless, baby mix-ups still occur occasionally, mostly due to human error. In this case, one of the babies had already been taken home by the other child’s parents when the error was discovered. After receiving their newborn and all of the necessary papers, the parents hurried to the taxi and went home, the father explained to Szeged365. They had just arrived home when the hospital called them that their son was still there.
The parents immediately checked the name on the baby’s wristband and realised that they had taken home someone else’s child from the hospital.
After waiting for half an hour for their taxi, the parents were on their way back to the hospital in Hódmezővásárhely. “It was the longest half an hour of my life,” said the father. Fortunately, their baby had not yet been taken home by the other family living in Makó (the distance between the two towns is approximately 30 km).
How is it possible that even the parents could not notice the swap? According to the father,
the two babies looked almost identical. They even had similar spots on their noses.
The hospital started an investigation to clarify the incident. It was revealed that the newborns were not swapped technically since both wristbands had the correct name written on them, but
the nurse has not read the names before giving the babies to the parents.
“I would like to apologise to the parents on behalf of myself and my colleagues. We did not want to cause any trouble or inconvenience. […] I’ve been working as a nurse for decades, but this was the first time that something like this happened”, told the nurse to Blikk. The hospital has acknowledged the error, and the chief physician of the department apologised to the parents on the spot. The healthcare institution has also promised to send a formal apology to everyone involved.
Opposition MEP calls for independent health-care ministry, budget raise
Klára Dobrev, an MEP of the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) party, pledged wage and staff increases in health care and a stand-alone ministry to oversee the sector, if DK gets elected into power next spring.
Dobrev, who is running in the pre-election to become the opposition alliance’s prime ministerial candidate, and two health experts of the party held an online press conference after meeting representatives of five health-care organisations in Budapest on Friday.
“The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the collapse of Hungarian healthcare,” Dobrev said.
The strategically important health-care sector needs a specialised ministry, she added.
The opposition parties have pledged to raise health-care spending to the EU average ratio of GDP, she said.
She said a large-scale staff increase the first and most important task, pledging to employ an additional 3,000 new doctors, 500 GPs, and 9,000 new health professionals in the coming years.
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Ruling Fidesz responded by saying that it would not allow a return of the previous era of Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány’s government in Hungarian healthcare.
“That government repeatedly cut healthcare funding, closed several hospitals, introduced a fee for a doctor’s visits and stripped the sector’s workers one month’s salary,” Fidesz said in a statement.
Since taking power in 2010, Fidesz has increased health-care spending and the wages of doctors and nurses, and has revamped a great number of hospitals across the country, it said, adding that Hungary’s health-care system had been up to its job in tackling the pandemic so far, unlike several other European countries.
Non-inoculated medical students are in significant trouble in Hungary!
In Debrecen, September 6 was the deadline to get the first jab. At Semmelweis University, one of the world’s best medical universities, non-inoculated students cannot start their program otherwise. In Pécs, there is no medical student yet who had to finish their studies due to not being protected.
According to mfor.hu, vaccination is compulsory for the students of the Faculty of Health, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Public Health, and Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Debrecen. Furthermore, it is also compulsory for the Hungarian and foreign students who work in social or health institutions in the framework of their university program. Only those can be exempted who have a medical certificate showing they cannot receive the jab.
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The same rule applies at the Semmelweis University of Budapest. They added that the inoculation rate is almost 100 pc among their students. Interestingly, for those who cannot accept it due to health reasons, the university provides free antigen tests every five days.
Incidentally, refusal is rare, based on the information of mfor.hu.
Six patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 323 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Friday. So far 5,834,961 people have received their first jab, while 5,541,598 people have been fully vaccinated. 487,000 Hungarians have already received booster jabs. The number of active infections stands at 6,006, while hospitals are treating 220 Covid patients, 30 of whom need respiratory assistance.
Since the first outbreak, 814,732 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,086. 778,640 people have made a full recovery. There are 2,868 people in official quarantine, while 6,679,227 tests have been officially carried out.
Since the first outbreak, 814,732 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,086. 778,640 people have made a full recovery. There are 2,868 people in official quarantine, while 6,679,227 tests have been officially carried out.
Almost 350 new infections in Hungary in the past 24 hrs
Three Covid patients died over the past 24 hours of a Covid-related illness, while 345 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday.
So far 5,830,217 people have received a first jab, while 5,535,463 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 461,000 Hungarians have already received booster jabs. The number of active infections stands at 5,798, while hospitals are treating 215 Covid patients, 26 of whom need respiratory assistance.
Since the first outbreak, 814,409 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,080. Fully 778,531 people have made a recovery. There are 2,563 people in official quarantine, while 6,664,898 tests have been officially carried out.
Number of new infections increased by 18 pc in only one week!
The number of new infections increased by 18 pc in only one week in Hungary. Furthermore, the number of patitens receiving hospital care is at weeks-long peak probably because of the high number of inoculated citizens.
Katalin Novák, minister for families and leader of the operational body responsible for relaunching social life, said that the government would not like to introduce severe restrictions. Pfizer delivered 250 thousand new doses with which the altogether number Hungary received from the company reached 8.5 million – portfolio.hu said.
Based on MTI, three Covid patients died over the past 24 hours of a Covid-related illness, while 246 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday. So far 5,825,831 people have received a first jab, while 5,530,279 have been fully vaccinated.
Fully 438,000 Hungarians have already received booster jabs.
The number of active infections stands at 5,586, while hospitals are treating 208 Covid patients, 26 of whom need respiratory assistance. Since the first outbreak, 814,064 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,077.
Fully 778,401 people have made a recovery. There are 2,212 people in official quarantine, while 6,651,684 tests have been officially carried out.
Most Covid cases so far have been recorded in Budapest and Pest County, followed by Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Győr-Moson-Sopron and Hajdú-Bihar counties.
The county least affected is Tolna.
Several patients and hospital staff were infected with COVID-19 at Szent János hospital
Szent János hospital is not accepting patients since last Friday since many of their current patients and health care professionals were infected with the coronavirus.
Népszava reported that a doctor turned out to be infected with the coronavirus and was sent to quarantine at the beginning of the week. On Friday last week, another employee and a patient got a fever.
After this case, the hospital did a test, and another three people got positive results. This happened at the surgical department, which will be disinfected, cleaned, and after a new test will be done on next Sunday and Monday, so that the healthcare institution can take new patients – wrote Telex. Népszava also found out from institutional sources that many people were transported from Szent Margit hospital to Covid departments.
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People who got the vaccine might have symptoms similar to those of the flu, but they can still spread the virus to others without their knowledge.
People who do not have the vaccination certificate have to show the results of a negative PCR test done not sooner than 48 hours before going to surgery or rehabilitation. In case of other health care services, such as endoscopic, bronchoscopic, respiratory, or otolaryngological examinations, a rapid antigen test is required. The latter is free of charge. The source, who talked about the health care issue, also said that “the covid vaccine certificate does not protect from the virus. Therefore every patient should be provided with a free PCR test.”
Virologist Gábor Kemenesi brought to attention a very important fact. According to a study in India, even if only 30% of people wear a mask, Covid-caused illnesses drop by 10%.
These mandatory Hungarian vaccines may promote immunity against COVID-19
The mask also protects from new variations of covid. Meanwhile, in Hungary, people are invited to events such as the Eucharistic Congress, where all safety regulations are lifted. Right when many people are concerned about the fourth wave of the pandemic, the number of infections is on the rise, and a third jab is advised.
Great news! – Hungary might supply its own vaccines by the end of 2022
Hungary’s new vaccine facility in Debrecen will start turning out doses at the end of next year, László Palkovics, the innovation and technology minister, said on Sunday, addressing the cornerstone ceremony of the plant.
More than 20 million vaccines will be produced at the plant located at the University of Debrecen’s innovation park each year using various technologies, he said.
The plant will ensure a stable and sustainable supply of vaccines for the home market for protection against any future pandemics or local epidemics, he said, adding that the development will also create jobs.
If necessary, the plant can be expanded and adapted for the production of various other vaccines, he added.
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Vaccines for humans were produced in Hungary for almost a century until the 1990s, he noted, though this came to an end with the privatisation of the country’s pharmaceutical industry.
Palkovics said that the lesson drawn from last year’s scramble to procure PPE was that “in this kind of a situation we can only rely on ourselves”.
The new facility will be a base for production as well as research and development, he noted, building on the university’s scientific and research experience.
Read alsoHow effective are COVID vaccines really in Hungary? – Recent statistics show
The tragic story of a Hungarian woman who nearly lost all her limbs
Within just 11 days, a Hungarian woman from Pécs has had multiple surgeries, and the doctors needed to amputate three of her limbs because of a genetic disease.
According to Mónika and her family, she was always on the go, came and went all day. She liked to drive and loved her work at a grocery store and would even work the second shift as a cleaner. At 39, she lived an average life when, suddenly, everything changed in just a day, says Blikk.
According to Mónika, everything started with a minor injury during one of their vacations, Bors wrote. She had a small wound on her feet which ulcerated and had to be treated for two years. This might have been the foreshadowing of the tragic story.
The woman told Pécs Aktuál that one day, she felt a strong stomach pain, and the muscle relaxers did not work, so she decided to go to the doctor but ended up in the ER and had to be operated on.
Her stomach pain was caused because her stomach ruptured and perforated. During the operation, the medical staff found out that Mónika had thrombosis in her stomach and limbs.
Within three months, the 39-year-old woman was operated on a total of 16 times and was diagnosed with a genetic vascular disease that causes severe thrombosis. Unfortunately, the doctors could not repair every vein and had to resort to amputation.
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Within just 11 days, Mónika lost three limbs.
The doctors first amputated her left leg, but within a week, she was told that they could not save her right leg either. The most shocking to her, however, was that just four days after losing both of her legs, she was told that her left arm had to go as well.
Margit, Mónika’s mother, remembered that her daughter called her from the hospital and asked her: “Mum, this cannot happen, right?”
She was devastated, and now she is being taken care of by her husband, Péter, and her mother. Mónika says that she was so shocked she could not even go to the streets for several weeks.
Mónika says that bathing is a difficulty, and her husband has to take her to the shower. She also mentioned that sometimes, she has severe phantom pain, and the tragedy has an emotional toll on her, too.
She is looking forward to speaking with a psychologist to ease her emotional pain, but the family has difficulties as the husband had to quit his job to be able to take care of Mónika.
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Number of new infections constantly increasing in Hungary
One Covid patient died over the past 24 hours, while 247 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Friday.
So far 5,799,584 people have received a first jab, while 5,512,118 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 379,000 Hungarians have already received booster jabs.
The number of active infections stands at 4,991, while hospitals are treating 149 Covid patients, 19 of whom need respiratory assistance.
Since the first outbreak, 813,040 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,061. Fully 777,988 people have made a recovery.
There are 1,874 people in official quarantine, while 6,606,051 tests have been officially carried out.
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Fourth wave to break out in November in Hungary?
Gábor Vattay, the leader of the Department of Physics of Complex Systems at ELTE University, says that, based on the newest Israeli data, the effect of the vaccine wears off just months after the inoculation process. Thus, people can get infected and pass on the virus.
According to index.hu, he added that people have to be inoculated again in 5 months. If people do not receive a third jab in the following weeks, months, the Delta variant will break out in late October/early November in the hospitals. He added that the number of patients treated in hospitals will increase, but it would not be as high as during the third wave. The virus will never be as dangerous as before, but protection will decrease with time.
One Covid patient died over the past 24 hours, while 262 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday. So far, 5,781,121 people have received their first jab, while 5,510,678 have been fully vaccinated. 342,000 Hungarians have already received booster jabs.
The number of active infections stands at 4,824, while hospitals are treating 138 Covid patients, 16 of whom need respiratory assistance. Since the first outbreak, 812,793 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,060. 777,909 people have made a full recovery. So far, most infections have been registered in Budapest and Pest County, followed by the counties of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Győr-Moson-Sopron, and Hajdú-Bihar.
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Infectologist: Hungary might reintroduce masks soon!
János Szlávik, chief infectologist of the South Pest Hospital Center, said that the new variant of the coronavirus is much more dangerous for young people, but taking the vaccine became fashionable among them. In contrast to the variants before, the delta already contaminates two days before the first symptoms appear.
According to 24.hu, he said the concentration of the virus in the wastewater is rising in ten cities. The number of new cases will follow that trend, and the fourth wave will start soon – he cleared. If the number of new infections reaches a given level,
it is imaginable to reintroduce obligatory mask-wearing again –
he added.
One Covid patient died over the past 24 hours, while 194 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday. So far 5,772,010 people have received a first jab, while
5,509,130 have been fully vaccinated.
Fully 322,000 Hungarians have already received booster jabs. The number of active infections stands at 4,826, while hospitals are treating 132 Covid patients, 13 of whom need respiratory assistance.
There are 1,437 people in official quarantine, while 6,584,218 tests have been officially carried out. Since the first outbreak, 812,531 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,059. Fully 777,646 people have made a recovery. So far, most infections have been registered in Budapest and Pest County, followed by the counties of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Győr-Moson-Sopron and Hajdú-Bihar.
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Almost 200 new infections again in only 24 hours!
One Covid patient died over the past 24 hours, while 189 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Friday.
So far 5,725,336 people have received a first jab, while 5,505,341 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 266,000 Hungarians have already received booster jabs. The number of active infections stands at 6,363, while hospitals are treating 82 Covid patients, 8 of whom need respiratory assistance. There are 1,137 people in official quarantine, while 6,542,042 tests have been officially carried out.
Since the first outbreak, 811,706 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,057.
Fully 775,286 people have made a recovery.
So far, most infections have been registered in Budapest and Pest County, followed by the counties of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Győr-Moson-Sopron and Hajdú-Bihar.
As a sign of Hungary’s economic recovery,
the country’s jobless rate was 3.9 percent in July, down from 4 percent in the previous month,
the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Friday. The rate covering 15-74 year-olds fell by 0.6 of a percentage point from July last year. In absolute terms, there were 189,000 unemployed, down 4,500 from the previous month. The three-month rolling average jobless rate was 4.1 percent in May-July. Fully 197,000 were jobless in the period. Meanwhile, on the employment side, the number of people with a job came to 4,704,000, up 12,000 from the previous month and by 94,000 compared with same month a year earlier.
Among 15-64 year-olds, the employment rate was 73.3 percent, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous three-month average rate and 1.8 percentage points from the same period last year. In the three-month period of May-July, the number of employees averaging 4,647,000 increased by 62,000 from the same period last year.
Number of active infections at 6,861 in Hungary
One Covid patient died over the past 24 hours, while 180 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday.
So far 5,715,525 people have received a first jab, while 5,504,899 have been fully vaccinated.
The number of active infections stands at 6,861, while hospitals are treating 93 Covid patients, 9 of whom need respiratory assistance.
There are 1,217 people in official quarantine, while 6,531,925 tests have been officially carried out.
Since the first outbreak, 811,517 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,056. Fully 774,600 people have made a recovery.
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One death, 134 new infections in Hungary
One Covid patient died over the past 24 hours, while 134 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.
So far 5,709,197 people have received a first jab, while 5,504,205 have been fully vaccinated.
The number of active infections stands at 7,713, while hospitals are treating 92 Covid patients, 13 of whom need respiratory assistance.
There are 1,101 people in official quarantine, while 6,513,515 tests have been officially carried out.
Since the first outbreak, 811,337 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,055. Fully 773,569 people have made a recovery.
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Hungarian hospitals in enormous debts
The debt has increased by 4.6 billion forints (over 13 million euros) in just one month.
The coronavirus pandemic hit hard in case of many businesses; unfortunately, social security is not an exception either. Numerous Hungarian hospitals accumulated an enormous amount of debt.
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Napi.hu writes that by the end of July,
Hungarian hospitals, together with all their institutions, had an almost unimaginable debt of 46 billion forints (over 131 million euros)
towards their providers. Based on the data of the Hungarian Treasury, this amount increased by 4.6 billion forints (over 13 million euros), just over the course of one month. The average augmentation is around 5.4 billion forints (15 and a half million euros) per month.
The current total reaches the amount hospitals owed at the end of last November before the government stepped in with a fiscal consolidation plan to stabilise the debt.
Considering those bills, as well, that have a 60-day deadline,
companies already have been waiting for 8-9 months to receive the money for their services or equipment provided.
Hospitals practically have been unable to pay ever since.
According to Index, the general secretary of the Association of Medical Technology László Rásky says that
if the rhythm of the increase does not change, the debts will surpass 60 billion forints when reaching November.
In a previous article back in May, Index wrote that the actual debts at that point stood at 32.7 billion forints (over 93 million euros). It has been steadily increasing since the beginning of this year when this number was “only” 19.4 billion forints (55 and a half million euros).
Interestingly, this high increase in July came to be while treating Covid patients did not really mean an extra burden anymore. The average number of patients tended to in hospitals due to the virus fell under 100 per day. Moreover, the capacity of the institutions on which they had worked before the pandemic has not been reinstated yet. They all operate on a relatively moderate level. It shows that the current financial allocation is so tight that it barely covers the wages and the basic costs.
The most important question is whether this complicated situation could influence the services provided by hospitals in the country, which would, of course, directly affect any citizen in need of care.
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August 20 long weekend: six deaths, 340 new infections
Six patients died over the weekend, while 340 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Monday.
So far 5,699,251 people have received a first jab, while 5,502,546 have been fully vaccinated. Hospitals are treating 73 Covid patients, 10 of whom need respiratory assistance.
There are 865 people in official quarantine,
while 6,492,441 tests have been officially carried out.
Since the first outbreak, 811,121 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 30,052. Fully 771,530 people have made a recovery. So far, most infections have been registered in Budapest and Pest County, followed by the counties of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Győr-Moson-Sopron and Hajdú-Bihar.
Meanwhile, as a sign of the Hungarian economic recovery after the pandemic, home rental rates in Hungary rose by an annual 1.4 percent in July, climbing for the second month in a row after falling for more than a year, data compiled by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) from listings site Ingatlan.com show.
Rental rates in the capital edged 0.2 percent lower in July. Rates there have dropped with little exception since the start of the pandemic. The monthly rental rate for a flat in the capital averaged 152,000 forints (EUR 434) in the first half of the year. In a month-on-month comparison, home rental rates rose by 2.7 percent countrywide and
increased by 2.4 percent in Budapest in July.