“We wanted to avoid what we have seen happen in several Western countries, where doctors have had to decide who receives a respirator and who doesn’t; who can live and who must die”, Tamás Menczer said on Hungarian M1 current affairs television.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s State Secretary added: “Our group of experts said that in the case of mass infection the simultaneous respiration of 8500 people may be necessary, and the Operational Group wanted to prepare for the worst case scenario, so we decided that 10 thousand pieces of equipment are required. However, in view of the fact that there was huge competition for respirators, and it was by no means certain that what we order would actually arrive, we ordered over 16 thousand to ensure that 10 thousand would definitely be shipped”. “The value of the ordered machines exceeds 300 billion forints (EUR 848 million), and the required financial resources were available, in view of the fact that human life cannot be dependent on money”, Mr. Menczer added. “The shipped respirators that are not required here at home will be sold, and there are already enquiries from Africa and Asia”, the State Secretary said. “In the meantime, Vác-based company Celitron has begun production of one of the world’s highest quality respirators, the Panther 5, and up to 1000 of these pieces of equipment are expected to be available to Hungarian hospitals by the end of this summer, meaning Hungary has been reinforced with a strategic capacity”, he highlighted. The State Secretary emphasised that in all cases the ordering of protective equipment occurred based on the advice of medical experts. Mr. Menczer also spoke about the fact that the state has provided 169 billion forint (EUR 477.7 million) in funding towards 377 billion forints (EUR 1.065 billion) in investment being realised by 806 enterprises, thanks to which over 140 thousand workplaces are being protected.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)