Will the Omicron virus explode in Budapest?

coronavirus in hungary hospital
Hungarian hospitals are treating Covid-19 patients. Photo: MTI

Although the number of hospitalised patients is currently declining, experts say the virus will be with us for a long time to come. Based on foreign examples, we can see that the Omicron wave begins in densely populated areas. So it is likely that the spread of the Omicron will begin in Budapest.

Is the fifth wave of the epidemic near?

Currently, the number of covid patients treated in hospital is decreasing in Hungary, writes napi.hu. The fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic may be declining, but it will stay with us for a long time. According to a Pulse Researcher survey,

most Hungarians think that the fifth wave will arrive in the next few months.

69 per cent of respondents believe the new wave will arrive in the spring of 2022 at the latest. Only 7 per cent of those surveyed think that there will be no more coronavirus waves. The research surveyed 1,000 people who represent the opinions of the adult population. The results show that women are slightly more pessimistic than men.

In terms of age, a higher proportion of seniors reckon there will be a fifth wave in the spring.

According to the survey, the higher one’s level of education is, the darker that person sees the future. If we examine the place of residence, a larger proportion of the residents living in the capital and the countryside believe there will be another wave soon. 

The Omicron wave can start from Budapest

The Omicron wave starts from densely populated areas. It then reaches areas with lower population density. Gábor Vattay, the head of the Department of Physics of Complex Systems at Eötvös Loránd University, prepared an analysis in this connection.

The number of cases in Budapest is constantly increasing.

Over the next few days, the fall of the Delta wave will change the indicators. After all, the decrease in the number of Delta wave cases masks the increase in Omicron cases. The data show that half of the cases in Budapest, while every fourth case nationwide, can be linked to the Omicron variant.

Examining international processes, it can be stated that the Omicron virus wave is one of the most serious in terms of case number, writes portfolio.hu. Mathematician Gergely Röst and epidemiologist Beatrix Oroszi are both members of an expert group supporting the Hungarian government’s epidemiological decisions. They believe that if the Omicron variant continues to spread at a similar rate as now, the current restrictions will not be sufficient.

Source: napi.hu, portfolio.hu

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