The state of preparedness needs to be maintained in the current second phase of the coronavirus epidemic in Hungary, the spokesman for the operative board coordinating Hungary’s response to the epidemic has said.
Róbert Kiss said Hungary’s protection measures had been “successful and effective” in the first phase of the epidemic. A vote in parliament is scheduled for June 16 on terminating the current restrictions, coupled with a vote on a bill to introduce a state of health emergency. The operative board will continue to carry out its duties and hospitals will continue to be required to take the coronavirus situation into account, he said. The government’s special powers related to the epidemic situation are expected to be rescinded on June 20, Kiss said. After the termination of the current state of emergency on June 20, cinemas, theatres, museums and baths will be allowed to reopen to the public, he said. Rules on shopping hours between 9am and noon for people aged older than 65 will remain in force, he said.
Meanwhile, Kiss said that home quarantine was ordered in 625 cases on Wednesday. Fully 10,985 people are under official home quarantine. He noted that a total of 2,115 people have registered for the electronic home quarantine monitoring system which has 860 active users so far.
The chief medical officer told the same press conference that the novel coronavirus epidemic in Hungary had “clearly subsided”. Cecília Müller said the number of cases increased by 23 in the past 24 hours, similar to the number over the past few days. Five people died, bringing the total number of deaths to 539, she said, adding that 2,205 people have made a full recovery, twice the number of active infections. Once the state of emergency is lifted on June 20, measures applying to the elderly and those living in closed communities will change. The ban on visiting care homes will be partially lifted. Family members who are infection-free may visit residents but they must wear a face mask and use hand sanitiser, Müller said. These institutions can admit a new resident or readmit one from a hospital with a laboratory test not older than four days proving they are free of Covid-19. The ban on visiting infected residents isolated in a care home remains, she said.
MTI
