The coronavirus can be present in every settlement; it is present in every county, and everyone can become infected, the Government Spokesperson said on Saturday at the Governmentinfo Plus press conference posted on Facebook.

Alexandra Szentkirályi said she is aware that this is a difficult situation, but she is asking everyone to learn from other countries’ examples, to take the situation seriously, to be disciplined, to observe the regulations, and those who can should stay at home.

She highlighted that “In Hungary, too, the pandemic caused by the coronavirus is raging, and the hardest part is yet to come”.

The epidemic has turned everyone’s lives upside down; students cannot go to school, people are losing their jobs, and the elderly are being isolated from family members and acquaintances, she said.

The government spokesperson thanked everyone participating in the containment effort for their work in the past few weeks, be they health care and social workers, police officers or soldiers. Our gratitude should also go to those who are doing the most important jobs necessary for daily life in this situation, as well as to those who are observing the regulations and are only leaving their homes when absolutely necessary, she added.

Ms. Szentkirályi underlined that the government will seize all means necessary to save human lives. “The number of those infected is on the rise, as is the number of the deceased; it is therefore important that we gain some more time,” she said.

She stressed that throughout the country hospitals are preparing for mass incidences, training programmes have been organised for health care and social workers, and the ordering of further health care supplies is ongoing.

The government spokesperson also pointed out that the cabinet is making available unlimited financial resources for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic: they have set up a disease control fund and an economy protection fund. In addition to slowing down the epidemic, it will also be necessary to restart the economy which will equally require contributions from political parties, local governments, banks and multinational companies, she listed.

Ms. Szentkirályi said the government started economy measures in its own court; so far, more than HUF 1,300 billion has been reallocated from ministries to the containment effort.

She recalled that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced earlier that the government would extend the restrictions on movement, and would review the situation weekly. This is necessary because so far we have managed to curb the spread of the virus, but the number of incidences will increase with all probability, she said.

According to the government spokesperson, it is important to observe the restrictions so that we can appropriately prepare for caring for the infected.

She pointed out that a decision had also been adopted which had given municipalities the authority to introduce more stringent measures during Easter as the holidays posed a particular threat from the respect of the spread of the virus.

In answer to a question she read out, Ms. Szentkirályi said this Easter we will have to do without big family gatherings and the Easter sprinkling of friends and acquaintances. The government is asking everyone to spend the holidays in limited family circles, meaning with those that they live together with.

She said it is especially important that people should not visit the elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases because they are particularly at risk from the virus. She stressed that, at the same time, we must pay attention to ensuring that no one should feel alone, and therefore people should frequently call family members.

The government spokesperson asked those returning from abroad to retire to voluntary home quarantine for two weeks. She recalled that those returning from countries qualifying as epicentres of infection, including Italy, China, South Korea and Iran, are being automatically sent to compulsory home quarantine.

Ms. Szentkirályi asked everyone not to try to abuse the restrictions on movement because people’s lives could depend on the observance of the regulations. For instance, when doing sports, people should try to keep a distance of more than 2 metres from one another. She also asked people to avoid trips to further destinations, including Lake Balaton as all changes of location constitute further opportunities for the transmission of infection. “Let us stay in the immediate vicinity of our own homes,” she added.

She also said there are more cars on the roads because the government has made parking free in the entire country in order to minimise the number of those travelling on crowded public transport vehicles. “This does not mean that we have relaxed the regulations,” she pointed out.

The government spokesperson underlined that the cabinet had adopted an economy protection action plan unique in the history of the country; “we are not leaving anyone alone in this situation, we are seizing every means to help Hungarian people, families and businesses,” she said.

She highlighted that the government’s goals had not changed even during the crisis situation, “we believe in jobs, not in benefits”. She added that “also in 2010, this is how we started, and have cut unemployment to one third”. “We have managed this feat once before; therefore, also now we are following this path,” she said.

She recalled that employers and workers were able to agree on reduced working hours if a given business’s orders had fallen by 15 to 50 per cent. In this case, the state pays 70 per cent of the difference between the full-time wage and the wage due for the shortened working hours. In this regard, the government spokesperson asked workers to spend the lost hours usefully; by training themselves or engaging in other activities that are important for their jobs.

She stressed that the government is helping with the livelihoods of families in several ways. In addition to protecting jobs, they have suspended credit debt repayments until the end of the year and have introduced various wage support measures.

Ms. Szentkirályi said, for the duration of the state of danger, the government has extended family and child protection allowances and social benefits. In answer to a question, she mentioned as an example that eligibility for the family allowance will be upheld not until the last day of the 2019-2020 school year, but until the month of the cessation of the state of danger.

(MTI)