There was no attending physician at the Pesti út elderly care home for minimum a week, the Chief Medical Officer stated at the Monday online press conference of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic.

Cecília Müller said, based on the documentation placed at the authorities’ disposal, they concluded that in the institution there had been no physician “physically present for minimum a week”. As a result, it is certain that there was no one to physically examine the residents. The investigation regarding the elderly care home will continue, she said.

Ms. Müller also said further samples had been taken from the residents of the Pesti út elderly care home, and at present 223 residents and 19 workers have been found to be infected with the virus in the institution. The number of the deceased stands at 23. A second round of testing was performed on 267 residents and 40 workers, the laboratory testing of the samples is ongoing, and results are expected for Tuesday, she added.

She highlighted that, according to estimates based on mathematical models, “the epidemic is expected to peak” on 3 May. This means that the number of incidences will not increase thereafter, and instead “a kind of plateau will develop”, meaning that “for several days the same number of infections and positive test results will be expected”. At the same time, “we are unable to tell how long this plateau phase will last”.

She added that the 3 May date had been known for some time; the health care system has been technically preparing for that. Additionally, the online training of health care workers is also ongoing, in combination with so-called blended learning which is a combination of online and conventional methods. 2,822 physicians, 8,803 nurses and 659 volunteers have started the training programme, and 1,668 physicians, almost 6,000 nurses and 350 volunteers have already completed the programme, having passed the end-of-training examination, she said.

In answer to a question, Ms. Müller said the coronavirus is present in 19 elderly care homes in the country, including eight institutions in Budapest, and institutions in Tököl, Sződliget, Borsodnádasd, Nagymágocs, Mezőszilas, Győr, Töltéstava, Csákánydoroszló, Bodajk, Dabas and Seregélyes. In several institutions, only one-off infections have been registered among nursing staff.

In answer to another question, she also highlighted that the virus spreads most in closed communities, and therefore the Operational Group takes the view that, subject to the observance of hygiene regulations, there is no obstacle to the organisation of final examinations.

She said in answer to a further question that 55 ambulances of the National Ambulance Service go out to take samples from patients; these vehicles had not been withdrawn from lifesaving operations.

In response to an enquiry, she said it is not out of the question that the virus also spreads via aid-conditioning equipment, but she believes that – provided that the usual maintenance servicing is performed – the use of air-conditioning equipment does not pose a particular threat in an average household or car.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)