From Monday, the administration of vaccines to seventh-grade students will continue, the Chief Medical Officer said at the Thursday online press conference of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic.

Cecília Müller said from among the spring campaign vaccines, 98,000 students received the first autumn dose of the compulsory vaccine against hepatitis B; however, due to the epidemic situation, in March they were only able to administer the second dose to around 20,000 students. Students who have been left out will be vaccinated between 25 May and 12 June.

During the same period, some 41,000 seventh-grade school girls – whose parents requested this – will receive the second dose of the vaccine against HPV (human papillomavirus), she added.

The expert indicated that both schools and parents will receive precise information about the administration of vaccines. She said it is important that during this period all students concerned should receive these vaccines, and so she asked parents to make sure that their children present themselves for vaccination at the stated time. She added that also during the administration of vaccines, health care workers will pay special attention to observing the relevant disease control regulations.

Outlining the latest epidemic data, Ms. Müller said since the beginning of the epidemic 3,641 persons have been diagnosed with confirmed coronavirus infection; the number of active patients currently stands at 1,659. In the past 24 hours, three persons have died in connection with the disease, and 43 new confirmed cases have been registered. The number of recovered patients has risen to 1,509, while at present 510 persons are being treated in hospital, including 27 requiring assisted ventilation, she stated.

She said figures show that the number of active patients is decreasing, and while there are some “minor shifts and changes”, the number of active infections is on the decrease and we are currently in the descending phase of the epidemic.

From among the 43 new cases, 16 were reported from Budapest, two from Fejér County, one from Hajdú-Bihar County, Nógrád County and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County each, 8 from Komárom-Esztergom County, 4 from Pest County and 10 from Zala County.

Four of the 16 infected persons reported from the capital are residents of the Óhegy utca social home, while four of the ten cases in Zala County are residents of the Külső-Kórház utca social home. They additionally detected a family in County Zala where three persons’ test results came back positive; there are ongoing disease control investigations in every case.

Ms. Müller also said as regards the distribution of infections, the case number falling on 100,000 persons stands at 37.3. There are significant differences among individual counties; in Budapest this figure is 98.5, in Zala County 89.7, in Fejér County 86.9, in Komárom-Esztergom County 71.5, while in Pest County 39.1.

Regarding the precautions related to the reopening of nursery schools and creches, the Chief Medical Officer advised parents to observe social distancing also inside institutions and to limit the number of persons present in changing rooms at any one time to maximum two or three. Adults are not required to wear face masks inside nursery schools, she added.

In connection with summer overnight camps, she drew attention to observing personal hygiene, and in these camps, too, attempts must be made to avoid overcrowding, for instance, in dormitories or during meals, and extra attention must be paid to the washing of bedding and to the frequent airing of enclosed spaces.

Schools must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before they reopen, the Chief Medical Officer said in answer to a question.

In answer to another question, Ms. Müller also said from Thursday the Tatabánya Szent Borbála Hospital is allowed to start receiving patients again in the case of certain outpatient services. Exceptions are the neurology ward, the gastroenterology ward, the cardiology ward, the nephrology ward, the psychiatric ward and the urology ward.

The Chief Medical Officer said the numbers of coronavirus tests ordered by general practitioners vary; so far, the ambulance service has taken 35,432 samples, most of them at the request of general practitioners. She added that the number of tests requested by general practitioners fluctuates; there were days when the ambulance service received thousands of such requests from general practitioners, while there were days when they only requested a few hundred or even fewer.

In answer to the question as to whether the coronavirus epidemic will have a second wave and what intensity it will have, Ms. Müller said at this time it is impossible to tell the progression of the further phases of infection, but the epidemic is likely to return. In her view, in the autumn or winter, we will have to expect a return of the pathogen, and so we must remain prepared and alert.

(MTI)