Index – National – Big jump in spread of infection: 7269 new patients from nearly 36,000 tests

The third wave of the epidemic is already in a phase of exponential spread, in one day 7,269 new infections were reported by koronavirus.gov.hu, so the number of infected people identified has increased to 459,816 since the beginning of the epidemic . We also quickly surpassed this year’s peak on Wednesday: On March 4, 6,278 new patients reported the highest daily number of infections in 2021. The highest daily number of infections, by the way, was 6,819 last November.

There is also a sharp increase in the number of active infections, currently 111,006 patients, according to official data.

Most of the deaths were 146 elderly and chronic patients, bringing the number of deaths to 15,765.

The number of healers is currently 333,045.

According to official information, the vaccination program is in order, on schedule and on weekends, with the suspension of vaccination with AstraZeneca only in the second half of next week. We wrote more about it here, and about how much chaos it caused, what reactions the suspension caused, you can read more here.

According to koronavirus.gov.hu, the number of vaccinated people has already increased to 949,497, of which 304,880 have already received their second vaccination.

As it is written, almost 400,000 registered elderly people are still vaccinated these days at GPs with the Sinopharm and Moderna vaccines and at hospital vaccination points with the Pfizer vaccine.

The third wave of the coronavirus epidemic in Europe has turned out stronger than before. Due to the drastic increase in the number of patients, the government has decided to tighten the restrictions. Now it must be closed so that the country can reopen as soon as possible. That is why we decided on a two-week hardening in the hope that we can restart life at Easter, emphasizes the government.

The toughest new protection measures, which will go into effect in the two weeks March 8-22, are as follows:

• Stores must close. Exceptions: grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, drugstores, tobacconists, shops selling materials and equipment essential for economic, agricultural and forestry activity, as well as shops selling food and fodder for pets, the market and the farmers market .
• All services are on pause, excluding private health, social, financial, postal and vehicle services. With regard to Women’s Day, florists can remain open on Monday, March 8, but must also close thereafter.
• Take out purchases will still be available in restaurants.
• Kindergartens and elementary schools will not be open until the end of spring break, and the content conditions for digital education will be determined by the relevant ministers. Digital education in secondary schools and higher education continues to exist. Due to low infection rates, the nurseries do not close.

The curfew at night will continue to apply between 8 pm and 5 pm One case of exemption from the curfew is work, which, however, must be justified. Sample certificate: https://koronavirus.gov.hu/cikkek/kijarasi-tilalom-alatti-munkavegzesrol-szolo-igazolas-letoltheto-igazolas-minta

To protect against the coronavirus, the curfew will take effect from November 11 between 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. The exemption is possible in the case of work, but must be justified.

New restrictive measures as of Monday:

• The use of a mask is mandatory on all streets and public areas within the residential area.
• If possible, keep a protective distance of at least 1.5 meters from the other person.
• Work is possible, but whenever possible we recommend working from home. In the state administration, work from home can be ordered, except those that contribute to defense.
• 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.
• Parks, arboretums and forests remain open.
• We will strengthen border crossings, but we will not restrict transit and cargo traffic.
• We will extend wage subsidies and tax breaks to sectors that need to close.

In addition, a national online consultation on the relaunch is underway, on which we expect feedback before March 15. Our goal is to be able to begin to gradually and responsibly lift the restrictions around Easter, asking for the opinion of the people, adds koronavirus.gov.hu.

The police strictly monitor compliance with the rules, impose fines and close places where regulations are not followed. The soldiers support the work of the police in various cities in the country and ease the burden of health workers in the hospital.

We note that the epidemic is extremely intense, the mutant British virus can infect more people, so compliance with general hygiene rules remains essential, they emphasize. To slow the spread of the community, we will continue to avoid places where there are many people inside, we will maintain social distance whenever possible, we will wash our hands frequently and thoroughly! Anyone who has been ordered an official home quarantine for a stay abroad or for any other reason must strictly comply with it. Anyone with symptoms should not go into the community, but rather stay home and notify their GP by phone.

The operational staff and the vaccination task force have modified the vaccination strategy so that as many people as possible receive their first vaccination as soon as possible. We try to include all available and incoming vaccine shipments in their entirety and as soon as possible, they emphasize.

In addition, the use of some vaccines has changed: the second dose of Pfizer is given 35 days apart from 21 days, AstraZeneca is given 12 weeks apart from the previous 4 weeks, and can now be given to people over 60 years of age. . All five vaccines used in Hungary are effective and safe, and provide protection against the severe course of coronavirus infection. Those who have not yet done so should register for vaccination at www.vakcinainfo.gov.hu. The vaccine saved lives.

According to official information, we expect 24 million doses of vaccine from 5 purchases in the EU: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Curevac, of which only Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have an EU license and have started to be distributed in Hungary. The government continues to condemn the slowness of the procurement and delivery of vaccines in the EU, emphasizing that this is why they have turned to vaccines from non-EU manufacturers.

As they write, in addition to Western vaccines, enough Chinese and Russian vaccines have been linked to vaccinate 3.5 million people. The Chinese Sinopharm vaccine has received 550,000 doses of the vaccine so far, which is currently used to vaccinate elderly people registered with GPs. Until now, the Russian vaccine has been used to vaccinate registered people over the age of 60 at vaccination points in county hospitals.

And on Thursday another shipment of Russian vaccine arrived. You can read more about it here.

• In the vaccination schedule, health workers are first, their campaign-type vaccination has been completed, but the second round of vaccinations will continue and, of course, they will also vaccinate health workers who now request vaccines at points of vaccination hospitals.
• In the second round, vaccinations of nursing homes and residential social institutions were carried out. So far, a total of 84,000 people have used the vaccination option, most of them having received their second vaccine. The elderly or social workers who have not used the vaccination option so far, but change their mind, can indicate this intention to the management of the institution. The vaccination teams will return to the institutions where the epidemiological situation has not yet allowed vaccination.
• In the third round, in the first week of February, the vaccination of the elderly registered for vaccination at the hospital vaccination points and general practitioners began. Pfizer vaccine is currently used for this at hospital vaccination points, and GPs now vaccinate with Moderna and Sinopharm vaccine in China.
• In the fourth round, on February 11, the vaccination of chronic patients under 60 years of age also began. For this, the AstraZeneca vaccine has been used because, according to previous regulations, it could only be administered to people between 18 and 59 years old. Starting next week, it will be possible to vaccinate people over 60 with this vaccine.

We ask that the vaccination be carried out in the GP’s office or at the hospital vaccination point, at the precisely agreed time, to avoid clusters and riots. The government drew attention again. GPs will receive a weekly update of the list of people registered for vaccinations for their practice. Everyone who registered online or by mail will be online.

The vaccination team is constantly working, monitoring the course of vaccinations, expected vaccine shipments, and also preparing for mass vaccinations if enough vaccine arrives. All target groups will be informed in due time about the relevant information. Depending on how many vaccines are available, scheduled and mass vaccinations are also possible. We have hospital, outpatient vaccinations, surgeries from general practitioners and, if necessary, electoral colleges can be involved, they add.

Protection of the elderly and chronically ill remains paramount. The elderly are also asked to pay more attention to themselves and general precautions. Attention is drawn to the fact that hospitals and nursing homes are still prohibited from visiting them.

In addition to health workers, social workers involved in defense, police officers, soldiers and public servants can also use public transport for free. Free rides require a certificate from the employer stating that the person is performing tasks related to the emergency or consequences of a coronavirus pandemic.

All meetings are prohibited. Restaurants cannot accept guests, they can only stay there to bring food. Hotels cannot accept tourists, only guests arriving for business, economic or educational reasons. It is forbidden to carry out any type of event, including cultural events. Sports matches must be held behind closed doors. The use of leisure facilities, including in particular fitness rooms, indoor swimming pools, museums, libraries, cinemas and zoos, ice rinks, is prohibited.

Funerals can be held for up to 50 people. Weddings can be held without a wedding, however only certain people can attend the event.

Public parking is free. Commercial P + R, Parking Garage, Parking Garage, Enclosed Surface Parking and Non-Enclosed Surface Parking can be used free of charge from 7pm to 7am. The facility operator is obliged to allow free parking during this time zone.

The government is working on additional family protection measures while maintaining health protection and has launched an economic restart action plan.