Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony adopted measures which would have prepared elderly care homes operated by the metropolitan municipality for the fight against the coronavirus epidemic too late, the Minister of State for International Communication and Relations said on the public service television news channel M1 on Sunday.

Zoltán Kovács said the number of incidences as well as the number of fatalities had been the highest in these institutions.

The interview highlighted that according to the Minister of State, it would be high time for Mr Karácsony to take responsibility for the organisation of the fight against the epidemic in metropolitan institutions. In the past few weeks, the Mayor of Budapest has attempted to divert attention away from his responsibility with all kinds of statements and displays while it has become clear that in Budapest elderly care homes operated by the metropolitan municipality have become epicentres of the epidemic, Mr Kovács was quoted.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister / MTI)