The virus is now present throughout the country, potentially anyone can become infected. Therefore, people can do the most by staying at home, Spokesperson of the Government Communication Centre Örs Farkas said on Wednesday morning on the public service television channel M1.

The spokesperson said if the Operational Group concludes that the spread of the virus has accelerated, further stringent measures can be expected. However, at this time, it seems that the measures implemented so far, including restrictions on movement, have proved their worth, and so the care system is able to effectively manage the situation.

The spokesperson also highlighted that the official data disclosure regarding the coronavirus epidemic had changed; from now on, they will also publish the sex, age and chronic diseases of the deceased as well as the territorial distribution of fatalities. Having access to more accurate data is important in order to enable everyone to find out who are most at risk. The last 20 fatalities support the fact that the virus is especially dangerous for those over 65 as well as for those suffering from underlying chronic diseases, he pointed out.

Previously they did not publish county data because based on earlier experiences in Italy and Norway this would have slowed down the containment effort in the initial phase of the epidemic. He added that now the virus is present in the whole of the country, potentially anyone can become infected, and so people can do the most by staying at home and minimising the number of face-to-face interactions.

Mr Farkas also said even amidst the coronavirus epidemic, “Brussels bureaucrats” focus on the issue of rule of law; meanwhile they have failed to provide any specific, financial support for any of the Member States. The grants worth HUF 2,000 billion repeatedly cited by the opposition are, according to the spokesperson, a complete misunderstanding because, in actual fact, this provides zero forint’s worth of extra support for Hungary.

He pointed out that the European Union had offered Hungary a sum in connection with the containment effort which the country had long since spent or tied up during the past seven-year fiscal cycle, he said.

Regarding the opposition’s behaviour, he said it is shocking irresponsibility on their part as their latest action, too, only jeopardised the containment effort, and as a result, Parliament could only decide about the coronavirus legislation at a week’s delay.

In connection with the government’s economic measures, he highlighted that they serve to enable those who are now finding themselves in a difficult situation to survive this period.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)