Index – Hungary – Béla Merkely: Viral skepticism and masked skepticism do not help



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The risk of the coronavirus spreading has increased, said Béla Merkely, rector of Semmelweis University, at a professional conference in Budapest on Thursday.

Béla Merkely at the XI. In his opening speech at the Public Health Conference, he emphasized that thanks to effective epidemiological control, no other country had a period of tranquility as long as Hungary. The measures had a quick effect and the spread of the epidemic remained stable after the opening. In the past two weeks, however, these epidemiological indicators have increased significantly in all counties, he noted.

Béla Merkely added, the virus has not changed, experts do not see any significant mutation. However, the first wave differed greatly from the current second wave in that the proportion of elderly among those infected was very high at that time.

Now most of the positive cases come from the young age group, but after a while the virus spreads to the elderly as well, so wearing masks is especially important.

He warned.

He also mentioned that the coronavirus had no deaths in Hungary under the age of thirty, and that the Hungarian death rate is low compared to Europe. A nationwide evaluation of four medical universities that involved more than 10,000 people in the spring also found that the virus affected the elderly the most. The Rector also highlighted the importance of professionally sound and credible communication. Viral skepticism and masked skepticism don’t help. Community cooperation can overcome the epidemic, most importantly, prevention, mask use, hand hygiene and proper restraint.

Gyula Szabó, member of the professional committee of the Hungarian Comprehensive Health Screening Program (MÁESZ), also remarked that preventive thinking is one of the most important in controlling the coronavirus. He said that in 2010 a new professional approach was born “beyond its time,” when leaders and senior consultants from 76 professional organizations started MÁESZ. Launched ten years ago, the program was carried out in 1,886 localities, with the participation of more than 560,000 citizens, with 7 million studies in which 20,000 professionals participated: general practitioners, health professionals, dietitians and nurses. The program brochure distributed at the event read: The Comprehensive Health Screening Program 2010-2020-2030 is a unique initiative in Hungary and in the world. The main objective of MÁESZ is to preserve health, prevent diseases and improve the health of the population by conducting as many tests as possible.



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