Third wave of the pandemic in Hungary – Closing of schools and malls might be necessary

Recently, newer and newer coronavirus variants have been discovered, and experts are saying that the third wave of the pandemic seems to be near. With the new variants appearing in more countries, the threat of the third wave is much more serious. According to some experts, even more restrictions might be needed to avoid the worst possible outcome of the threat posed by the new variants.

Although vaccination is in process in Hungary, the number of new cases seems to be rapidly increasing. Index drew attention to a report by a Hungarian television channel, RTL: in their news programme, they interviewed a virologist:

“From the healthcare’s point of view and from an epidemiological point of view, it would certainly be useful to close schools, but I need to emphasise that it is not just these aspects that matter in the life of a country. Decision-makers also need to consider the psychological point of view as many people are already sick and tired of the current restrictions and would probably rebel even more against another tightening of measures. [Currently, elementary schools can operate normally in Hungary.]

Schools pose a threat only because if it is mandatory, it affects a lot of people; parents take children to school and grandparents bring the children home. If schools are closed, parents will also be forced to stay at home at least to some extent.

From an epidemiological point of view, this would be a more perfect, complete closing of the country. But apart from that, there is not much else that we could do. Once the schools are closed, we could not do anything more,” Miklós Rusvai told RTL.

The restrictions have been in place for almost a full year in Hungary, with only a short lax in measures around the summer. Many people, especially in the catering and foodservice industry, are struggling. A lot of people have no income and are burning up their savings – that is, if they had any to begin with. The supply of some goods has been declining, and the prices of many products have risen.