As expected, the government will decide on the shopping time slot reserved for the over-65s on Wednesday, the Chief Medical Officer said at the Monday online press conference of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic.

Cecília Müller said the goal is for life to return to its normal course also in this regard. At the same time, she thanked members of the public for their patience.

The Chief Medical Officer also said from Monday all health care services are available without restriction. In hospitals 80 per cent of the beds reserved earlier for the care of coronavirus patients can be restored to other therapies; however, 20 per cent of beds must be reserved for the treatment of coronavirus patients.

The rule of four persons per hour introduced for general practitioners and specialist physicians has been abolished; however, health care services can still only be used by prior appointment made by telephone, she highlighted.

She added that they are not maximising the number of specialist physician hours as it is in everyone’s best interests to complete the tests and examinations that were postponed earlier within the shortest possible time. The only condition is that health care service providers are required to inform the health care authority and the operator providing their funding.

She said they have partially lifted the visiting ban in hospitals; the relevant specific rules will be determined by the given institution’s director general. She drew attention to the fact that only healthy persons are allowed to visit hospitals, subject to the washing or disinfecting of hands and the wearing of face masks. Only such persons are allowed to come into contact with patients within a distance of less than two metres. The Chief Medical Officer suggested that wherever possible these visits should take place outdoors.

Ms. Müller highlighted that in the past 24 hours the number of coronavirus patients had increased by 7 and one person had died in connection with the epidemic. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 4,076 confirmed patients have been registered, 2,485 persons have recovered, and 563 persons have died. There are 1,028 active infections at present, and 275 patients are being treated in hospital, including 19 requiring assisted ventilation. Also at present, 41 incidences and 5.8 fatalities fall on 100,000 inhabitants, she said, adding that 110 infections fall on one hundred thousand residents in Budapest, 100 in Komárom-Esztergom County, 97 in Zala County, 90 in Fejér County and 46 in Pest County.

The number of infections was the highest in week 15 at 712, while the number of fatalities peaked in week 16 at 91. These numbers continuously decreased by week  24 when 62 infections and 15 deaths were recorded, she recalled.

She mentioned that women account for 57 per cent of the 4,076 confirmed cases, while men for 43 per cent; 45 per cent of all infected patients are aged over 65, persons aged between 50 and 59 account for 15 per cent of positive cases, persons aged between 40 and 49 account for 14 per cent, while all other age groups account for 10 per cent. She highlighted that only 0.1-0.6 per cent of infected patients are children.

Ms. Müller stressed that the latest data is favourable, the number of recovered patients is now two and a half times higher than that of active patients, “however, the virus has not gone away, it is still present in the country at a low level,” with around 10 new registered daily infections.

The Chief Medical Officer advised those travelling abroad to take out insurance so that they have access to local health care services, and should the suspicion of coronavirus infection arise, they should seek assistance locally.

Ms. Müller suggested that any elderly persons working in catering should wear face masks, pay special attention to personal hygiene and opt for jobs that involve few face-to-face contacts. These include cleaning and kitchen work.

In answer to a question about the percentage of rise or case number which signals the beginning of a second wave of the epidemic, the expert said there is no single exact number. In epidemiology, they always observe trends and geographical areas as well as closed communities above all in the interest of imposing any timely measures that may be necessary.

The Chief Medical Officer recalled that Sunday was World Blood Donor Day; she said thank you to the workers and activists of the National Blood Transfusion Service and the Red Cross for their work as well as to blood donors for contributing to saving the lives of others.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)