258, mostly elderly, chronic patients died, and another 9,288 Hungarian citizens were diagnosed with the coronavirus. So far, 2,065,948 people have been vaccinated in Hungary, of whom 787,207 have already received the second dose.

According to the government portal, the number of infected people identified in Hungary has increased to 661,721. The number of those who died rose to 20,995, the number of those who recovered was 410,565. The number of active infected people rose to 230,161. 12,062 coronavirus patients are being cared for in hospitals, of which 1,512 are on ventilators. There are 55,915 people under official home quarantine, and the number of samples has increased to 4,649,596.

They pointed out that the vaccination program is running smoothly and according to schedule, and due to their vulnerability, the vaccination of the registered elderly is still at the front of the queue. Vaccination continues with Pfizer and Szputnyik vaccines at hospital vaccination points, and with Sinopharm, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines at general practitioners.

On Thursday, the campaign vaccination of pre-registered kindergarten and school workers will also begin. As it was written, the third wave of the coronavirus epidemic across Europe is proving to be stronger than the previous ones. Due to the drastically increasing number of patients, the government has tightened protective measures. Among the measures in force, it was mentioned that wearing a mask is mandatory on all streets and public areas within the residential area, and that a protective distance of at least one and a half meters from other people must be kept if possible.

Working is possible, but working from home is recommended where possible. Home work can be ordered in the state administration, except for those who contribute to the defense, they added. The curfew is still in effect between 8pm and 5am. Shops must be closed, with the exception of grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, drugstores, tobacconists, as well as stores selling essential materials and tools for economic, agricultural and forestry activities, as well as stores selling pet food and fodder and markets, farmers' markets .

All services are suspended except for private health, social, financial, postal and vehicle services. At the same time, it is still possible to buy takeaway in restaurants. Outdoor sports are possible where a distance of one and a half meters can be maintained. Training of certified athletes is allowed, matches are only possible behind closed doors.

Border crossings are tightened, but transit and freight traffic are not restricted. The government extends wage subsidies and tax breaks to sectors that have to close. They emphasized that the police will strictly check compliance with the rules, can impose fines, and close down places that do not follow the rules. The soldiers support the work of the police in several cities of the country and relieve the health workers in the hospital.

"We can only start the restart gradually and when 2.5 million people are vaccinated"

- they highlighted, adding that even then only in gradual steps. The government decree to this effect was published in the Magyar Közlöny on Saturday.

Vaccination is the only way out of the epidemic. Since the start of the third wave, the number of registered people has increased by another million, but there are still many who have not registered. www.vakcinainfo.gov.hu ​​if they have not yet done so, they wrote in the announcement.

They added that those registered who are still waiting for vaccination can check the status of their registration. The National Health Insurance Fund Management has opened an internet interface for this purpose.

Attention was drawn to the fact that the epidemic is spreading extremely intensively, the British virus mutant is able to infect more people, therefore compliance with general hygiene rules is still essential. The operational staff and the vaccination work group modified the vaccination strategy so that as many people as possible receive their first vaccination as soon as possible, they wrote. They added: all available and incoming vaccine shipments will be included in the vaccination in full and as soon as possible.

All five vaccines used in Hungary are effective and safe, and provide protection against the severe course of the coronavirus infection, they pointed out. In addition to maintaining health protection, the government is working on additional family protection measures and launched the economic restart action plan.

According to the site's map, Budapest (124,071) and Pest County (93,050) have registered the most infected people so far. This is followed by Győr-Moson-Sopron (37,500), Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (36,551) and Hajdú-Bihar county (35,078). The counties least affected by the infection are Tolna (14,543) and Zala (14,498).

MTI