Author:

Vince Ballai – László Iván Nagy

On Monday, Viktor Orbán announced a series of restrictive measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. The government brought these in the spring as well, so we put the then and now steps side by side to see if the government is cracking down on the much worse epidemiological numbers now.

Coronavirus: the second wave, the second closure

Later than expected by many, but in mid-November, the Hungarian government also decided to try to curb the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic by introducing restrictions. At the time of the decision, 5,000 new infections a day had been identified and the number of deaths from the virus was mostly between 50 and 100 in 24 hours. The first step is partial closure, but how effective it is is questionable. Follow our news!

The exact provisions of Viktor Orbán’s announcement on Monday have yet to appear as legislation at the time of this writing, but at first glance they seem stricter than the spring restrictions. In the spring, for example, there was no curfew, only restrictions, at first restaurants were not closed, hospitality in hotels and family events were not regulated separately, and individual indoor sports were not prohibited.

Meanwhile, the opening hours of the stores are now limited to seven in the afternoon, in public education distance education has only been ordered for those over 14 years old, and funerals are allowed for up to 50 people. That is, it is not entirely clear that the restrictions are now as strict as the number of epidemics.

At the time of Monday’s announcements, for example, the number of new infections increased by 5,162 and 55 people died from the virus. When Viktor Orbán announced the transition from schools to distance education in the spring, there were still no deaths and there were nine new infections that day (March 13). When the first severely restrictive measures were announced on March 16, there was only one death (also the day before) and health authorities reported 11 new infections, while when the curfew was announced on March 27, one was reported. death and 43 new infections. News.

We’ve juxtaposed the newly announced measures and what happened in the spring:

Measure Restrictions Announced in Fall Measures introduced in the spring
Departure It is prohibited between 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., in which case you can only drive on the street for work reasons, return home from work or other extraordinary reasons.

Instead of a curfew, there were curfews, but not at certain times of the day, but during March 28 and April 11. It is true that the range of exceptions (good reasons to be outdoors) was much wider.
Mounting All meetings are prohibited.

First, the ceremonies of March 15 were canceled one after another, and then on March 16 it was decreed that it was forbidden to be present at the meeting place.
Restaurants

Restaurants are closing, only home delivery is possible. Factory canteens may be open.

Restaurants were only open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. first, and then it was completely forbidden for anyone to eat inside unless someone asked for the food to be taken away and waited.
Stores

Shops, hairdressers and small craft service providers will close at 7:00 p.m.

They could be open between six in the morning and three in the afternoon, but there were exceptions, such as the public one, where, however, a business time zone was introduced for those over 65 between 9 and 12 in the morning .
Hotels

They can only receive guests for business purposes, not tourists.

There was no specific measure specifically for hotels, although due to entry bans and curfew restrictions, many hotels closed or looked for alternatives.
Events

A general event ban will apply.

Attendance at leisure events and cultural institutions in all their forms, including outdoors, was prohibited.

The March ban on events was extended to leisure events as well as visits to cultural institutions, but churches were an exception.
Family and private events

Up to 10 people can attend a family reunion or private event.

 Family events were not directly regulated, an exception to travel restrictions if someone had attended a wedding or funeral, but could only be held in a tight circle, see below.
Weddings and funerals

Only up to 50 people can go to a funeral at a time. And the wedding can be attended by the people necessary for the ceremony, witnesses, parents and siblings.

Weddings were an exception to curfew restrictions imposed in late March, “in a small family circle,” and in early April, the funeral association requested that funerals be held with up to 10 mourners, for example.
Sports events

Sporting events take place behind closed doors.

The door was also ordered to be closed, but sports tournaments opted for immediate closure. The cups organized by UEFA were stopped, so the qualifying rounds of the Eurocup, the Nations League, the Champions League and the Europa League were also stopped, so that the matches of the Hungarian team did not continue. A similar situation would affect Ferencváros and the national team that will qualify for the knockout rounds of the European Championship in autumn.
Education

From the eighth grade on, all high school and college students have been assigned a digital curriculum, and colleges are closing as well. Eighth graders and students younger than them, as well as preschools and daycare centers will continue to function smoothly, and the educators who teach them will be evaluated regularly.

A full school closure from lower grades through college was announced, with a digital curriculum throughout. Kindergartens and nurseries could be decided by local governments, for example they were closed in Budapest. The dorm students were also sent home in the spring.

The current measures, although strict, do not appear to be as strict as in spring, as the current figures are worse. It is true that we have learned more about the virus and its spread since then, there are more new and successful therapies available to treat patients, and the government wants to avoid the shutdown of the economy – for example, several car factories closed in the spring , for example. for example, Ikea has also closed its national stores, not to mention the stagnant and since then only vegetative foreign tourism.

In autumn, the government wanted to prevent a repeat of these closures, and the head of government announced in early September, before the start of the second wave, that the country could not shut down and persisted for weeks despite deteriorating epidemiological data. .


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