The number of active COVID-19 infections stands under 170,000 in Hungary

Fully 131 Covid patients, generally elderly and suffering from an underlying illness, died over the past 24 hours, while 902 new infections were officially registered, bringing the total number of infected to 317,571, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Tuesday.

The death toll has risen to 9,292, while the number of people who have made a recovery has increased to 138,365.

The number of active infections stands at 169,914, while there are 6,298 hospitalised Covid patients, 444 on a ventilator.

Altogether 21,667 people are in official home quarantine, and the number of tests carried out has risen to 2,621,427.

Most infections have been registered in Budapest (61,041) and Pest County (39,909) so far, followed by the counties of Győr-Moson-Sopron (18,521), Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (18,146) and Hajdú-Bihar (18,092). The county least affected by the infection is Tolna (6,172).

The first shipment of Pfizer vaccines crossed the Hegyeshalom border on Saturday morning at 6 AM. From there, the packages were taken over by the police, read more here: Coronavirus vaccine in Hungary. Hungary will receive a total of 4.4 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.

As we wrote yesterday, Hungary has taken delivery of 6,000 ampoules of Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine, details HERE.

Hungary’s restrictions to stay in place, but… 

Hungary’s current, strict coronavirus-related restrictions will be kept in place until January 11. 

December 31 would be no exception, with a ban on New Year’s Eve parties.

The Orbán cabinet has also decided to ban as of midnight December 22 all passenger flights, including private planes for business travel, arriving from Britain, details HERE.

Restrictions in Hungary

On November 10, lawmakers extended the government’s special powers by 90 days, allowing the government to suspend the application of some legislation, diverge from legal provisions and take other extraordinary measures by decree.

A decree made commercial P+Rs, parking garages and parking lots in residential areas free of charge from 7:00 in the evening until 7:00 in the morning. Soldiers are helping the police in carrying out their duties in public areas. Soldiers have also been assigned to help out staff in 93 hospitals around Hungary.

The curfew is in force between 8pm and 5am, and work carried out beyond the home must be justified.

With the exception of pharmacies and petrol stations, shops can be open until 7pm. Hairdressers, masseurs and personal trainers must observe general curfew rules. Family and private events including birthday celebrations can be held with a maximum of ten people attending, children do not count in the headcount.

A major new rule is that face masks must be worn in public spaces in localities with more than 10,000 residents, though it is up to local mayors to decide which spaces the rule applies to. Restaurants are limited to offering takeaways, while hotels are not allowed to cater to tourists, only guests arriving for business, economic or educational purposes.

Sports events must be held behind closed doors. Also, leisure facilities such as fitness gyms, indoor swimming pools, museums, libraries, cinemas, zoos and skating rinks must suspend their services. Events, including cultural events, cannot be held under the special rules.

Source: MTI