There have never been this many new Covid-19 infections in Hungary in one day!

Fully 172 patients, generally elderly with an underlying condition, died over the past 24 hours, and 8,312 new coronavirus infections were officially registered, while 1,149,557 people had received their first jab by Thursday, koronavirus.gov.hu said.

The number of infections has risen to 489,172, while the death toll has increased to 16,497. The number of recoveries stands at 344,267.

There are 128,408 active infections, while hospitals are caring for 8,329 Covid patients, 911 of whom are on ventilators.

Fully 49,302 people are in official home quarantine, while the number of tests carried out has increased to 3,955,994.

Most infections have been registered in Budapest (92,872) and Pest County (65,206), followed by Gyor-Moson-Sopron (28,090) Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen (27,571), and Hajdu-Bihar counties (26,883). The county least affected by the infection is Tolna (10,829).

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Hungary closes down until March 22 to curb Covid-19 spread

Hungary close most shops and services for two weeks and kindergartens and primary schools for the next month in an effort to curb the third wave of coronavirus infections. MORE INFO HERE.

Shops, with the exception of grocery stores, pharmacies, petrol stations, drugstores, tobacco shops, shops selling tools for “spring gardening”, pet food and fodder shops, and markets, will have to be closed, and services will have to stop, with the exception of private healthcare, social care, financial, postal, and car repair services, suspended between March 8 and 22.

Kindergartens and primary schools will be closed from March 8 until April 7.

Gyms will continue to be closed for two weeks, but licenced athletes will be allowed to train and compete behind closed doors. Parks will be allowed to stay open and outdoor sports will also be allowed for activities in which people can maintain a safe distance of 1.5 metres. The government asks employers to ensure that their employees can work from home wherever possible, particularly in the case of those with children.

Mask-wearing remains mandatory outdoors, he said.

Hungary would impose tighter controls on its borders, adding, however, that freight and transit traffic will not be restricted. Wage subsidies and tax cuts introduced for the hospitality industry will be expanded for the period of the lockdown to all sectors forced to shut down by the new measures.

Source: MTI