The prime minister said the epidemic was gaining momentum, noting that Austria now had 1.5 times as many infections per million people as Hungary. “And the situation is even worse further out to the west,” he said, adding that Hungary tended to be about 5-7 days behind Austria in terms of the state of the epidemic. If this trend holds, Hungary’s hospitals will be close to exhausting their capacities by mid-December, he said.
The Hungarian premier pointed out that, just as in the spring, it was again the elderly and people suffering from chronic illnesses who are the most vulnerable to the disease. Therefore, “it’s time to take further steps to protect the operations of the country’s hospitals and the lives of the elderly”, he said.
“We must put political disagreements aside and we’ll need swift action and timely measures,” Orban noted, adding that as a result, the government has decided to reintroduce the special legal order starting from midnight on Tuesday, and called on parliament to extend the state of emergency by ninety days.
The government has decided to introduce further protective measures:
- Sporting events, cinemas and theatres will have to restrict audiences to using every third seat, and face masks must be worn at all times. Authorities will inspect all venues and those not adhering to the rules will be closed immediately.
- The government is restricting people’s movement between midnight and 5 am, and nightclubs will be ordered to close.
- In order to reduce crowds on public transport, the government has ordered to make public transport services more frequent during the morning and afternoon rush hours, and parking will be made free of charge once again.
The prime minister also said that doctors will receive wage hikes and that hospitals had all the necessary protective equipment at their disposal.
“Hungary has the third largest reserves of hospital beds in Europe after Germany and Austria and the largest reserve of ventilators. Our doctors and nurses continue to do world-class work, and do their best to heal the patients,” Viktor Orban emphasized.
The HUngarian premier also stressed that the ultimate solution would be a vaccine, which is within sight. We must hold out until a vaccine is developed, he added, noting that Hungary was in talks with the European Union, Russia, China and Israel on purchasing vaccines once they are developed.
“The situation is serious, but we already succeeded in the spring. If we work together and follow the rules, we will succeed together again,” the Hungarian Prime Minister concluded his announcement.