HEALTH

The government has published the regional breakdown of active coronavirus cases for the first time after weeks of only disclosing the total number of cases nationwide. According to the newly published data, the vast majority of active cases are found in Budapest, while Békés remains the only county without any active coronavirus …

The number of registered coronavirus infections in Hungary has increased by nine to 4,465 over the past 24 hours, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday morning. The number of fatalities remains unchanged at 596, while 3,339 people have made a recovery. There are 530 active infections and 76 coronavirus patients are being treated in …

“In solidarity with the people of his birthplace,” Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros announcedhe will be donating one million Euros to Budapest to help the capital’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In his statement, he argues that “the COVID-19 pandemic knows no boundaries, not between countries, communities, religions, or people. Anyone can …

Lawmakers on Monday passed a bill aimed at extending a state of emergency and granting the government special powers to take extraordinary measures to contain the spread of novel coronavirus. Among the measures, flouting quarantine regulations is punishable by up to three years in prison. Also, anyone who disseminates fake news or …

Hungary has successfully managed to slow down the spread of novel coronavirus compared with other countries in the region, a leader of the central team coordinating efforts against the epidemic told an online press conference on Thursday. Tibor Lakatos said that the positive trend was the result of government measures and people taking restrictions seriously. …

The Hungarian government has appealed to the European Commission to grant VAT exemption for imports of face masks, respirators and other equipment of protection against the novel coronavirus, State Secretary Norbert Izer told MTI on Thursday. Izer added that the exemption would only apply to appliances to be distributed free of charge. …

In the wake of the news about the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Hungarian sportsmen in general accepted and acknowledged the decision, many of them were however unable to hide their disappointment, given the prolongation and uncertainty of preparations.  To this date, Hungarian sportsmen …

The first complete Hungarian coronavirus genome has been successfully sequenced by the Virological Research Group of the Szentágothai Research Center at the University of Pécs and the Bio-informatics Research Group. Virologist Ferenc Jakab, leader of the Szentágothai Research Center, emphasized that this is an important milestone for further Hungarian and international …

A consignment of protective gear in connection with novel coronavirus has arrived from China, the prime minister said on Facebook on Tuesday. The delivery contains 3 million face masks, 100,000 tests and 86 ventilators, Viktor Orbán said. Consignments from China are being delivered to Hungary regularly, with around ten plane loads expected …

The government has organised its response to the new coronavirus outbreak along the policing, military, health-care and economic aspects of combatting the epidemic, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told a press conference on Monday. “We will have to succeed on four battlefields simultaneously,” Orbán said at an online press conference of the operative …

The number of novel coronavirus related deaths has increased to seven in Hungary as an old man died, the government’s info website koronavirus.gov.hu said on Monday morning. The site also reported that the number of patients recovered from the illness has increased to 16. The number of people diagnosed and confirmed with …

Over the weekend, 1,469 Hungarians worldwide, who have been stranded due to the new coronavirus epidemic, started their journey home with government help, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Sunday. The government has set up ten action groups to handle the response to the epidemic, one of them focusing on helping Hungarians stranded abroad. …

Weeklies and weekend editions of dailies ponder the economic and social implications of the coronavirus emergency, including discussion of the extension of the state of emergency. Hungarian press roundup by budapost.eu In 168 Óra, Péter Somfai suggests panic shopping is due to the lack of trust among Hungarians. The left-wing columnist suggests that the Hungarian …

Airlines Emirates and Wizz Air are suspending their Budapest-Dubai flights. Emirates said on Thursday that it is cancelling its Boeing 777 flights on March 21 and 22, and then between March 24 and May 20. Passengers are being offered an opportunity to re-book their flights or obtain a refund. Wizz Air is …

The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus in Hungary in recent weeks has not been high compared to some European countries. However, the spread of Covid-19 has just begun to reach a new level in the country. As of now, without a cure, the only thing we can …

The government has decided to suspend until the end of the year the capital and interest rate payment obligations of both private individuals and businesses under effective loan agreements, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announcedon his Facebook page on Wednesday. The government has also decided to extend short term business loans until …

Due to the spread of the coronavirus, and the decreased sales and uncertainty in car parts supplies, the Volkswagen Group will suspend production at most of its plants, including its plant in Győr as well. Audi has confirmed, that in addition to its plants in Ingolstadt, Brussels, and Mexico, their factory …

Yesterday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that Hungary will close its borders for all passenger transport. The measure is effective from midnight until further notice. Although the borders will be closed, Hungarian citizens and their family members can enter the country and Liszt Ferenc International Airport remains open as well.  The …

The outbreak of the new coronavirus in Hungary has entered its next stage, going from isolated cases to clusters, chief medical officer Cecília Müller said on Monday. The cases identified in the country so far were either individual ones or within smaller communities, she told a press conference after a meeting of …

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony has called for “braver measures” to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. Restrictive measures implemented so far to contain the epidemic have been “insufficient”, Gergely Karácsony said in a video message on Facebook on Monday. “What we see if we look at Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and other countries …

Hungary’s schools will stay closed from Monday in view of efforts against the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a video announcement published on Facebook on Friday night. From March 16 on, schools will continue education through digital channels, and no personal presence at the school will be required, …

While Hungarian universities have been ordered to close, the closure of schools is still not on the agenda. Although teachers’ unions urge for the closure, the government insists that the disease tends to evade children, which makes school closures unnecessary for now. A decree issued on Wednesday explicitly banned school …

Hungary’s parliamentary parties have unanimously suggested that schools should be closed down on Monday in view of the new coronavirus spreading, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office told a press conference, adding that the government was likely to pass a decision within one day. Gergely Gulyás said that the number of …

Budapest’s cinemas, theatres, museums and libraries are being closed down for the time being in connection with the new coronavirus, Gergely Karácsony, the city’s mayor, announced on Thursday. Performances will be suspended in all cinemas and theatres maintained by the municipality, while museums and all branches of the Szabó Ervin Library …

Hungary’s government information website koronavirus.gov.hu on Thursday confirmed another three cases of the new coronavirus, bringing the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country to 16. Two of the new virus cases are Hungarian citizens and the third an Iranian national, the website said. One of the Hungarians is a …

The 13th person in Hungary to be diagnosed with Covid-19 is a Hungarian woman who has been in contact with the Debrecen-based British man diagnosed earlier this month, koronavirus.gov.hu, the government website providing information on the outbreak, saidon Wednesday. The woman has been quarantined in Budapest’s St László hospital for the past …

The opposition Jobbik party is demanding that kindergartens, schools and universities should be closed in order to prevent the emergence of a serious epidemic of the new coronavirus. György Szilágyi, the party’s deputy leader, told a press conference on Tuesday: “We must do all we can to prevent the epidemic from spreading any …

Even though the groupmates of the Iranian student at SOTE voluntarily went to St. Ladislaus Hospital to be tested for coronavirus, the hospital refused to conduct the test. The students were concerned because they all had direct contact with the Iranian student who was later found out to be infected …

Hungary’s government has decided to cancel next week’s state celebrations of the March 15 national holiday because of the new coronavirus, at the recommendation of the operative board overseeing the response to the virus, the Government Information Office said on Saturday. Though Hungary so far has only identified individual coronavirus …

A 70-year-old Hungarian man with underlying health conditions was identified as the fifth coronavirus patient in Hungary. Although there were previous cases of the disease in Hungary, they were all foreigners – three Iranian and a British citizen. The elderly man with severe illness was diagnosed earlier today and currently …