The procurement of new supplies is ongoing, the head of the duty centre of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus infection said at an online press conference held on Tuesday.
It is necessary to extend and declare a state of danger in the interest of the swift adoption of decisions that serve to protect human lives or jobs, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister stressed on the Tuesday morning programme of the public service television news channel M1.
Due to the epidemic, in the case of contactless card purchases, the government has raised the limit relating to the mandatory use of PIN numbers from HUF 5,000 to HUF 15,000. According to preliminary estimates, almost 90 per cent of all transactions could be carried out without customers’ hands coming into contact with the POS terminal. This measure, too, serves to slow down the epidemic as it reduces the need for customers using bank cards to come into physical contact with the terminal – touched by many other customers – for the purpose of typing in their PIN numbers.
A health care delivery from China has arrived, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reported on his Facebook account on Tuesday morning.
The flight that arrived in Budapest in the early hours of the morning on 24 March 2020 has delivered 70 tonnes of medical instruments and protective health care supplies in total. In addition to more than 3 million face masks, the latest consignment which constitutes a common procurement of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology and Semmelweis University also includes 86 ventilators.
“All Hungarians stranded abroad are being given assistance to return home, no matter where they may be in the world. We are continuously monitoring the requests that are submitted to our embassies, and the working group is working 24 hours-a-day”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó wrote above a video posted to his Facebook page on Monday.
If opposition Members of Parliament do not vote for the extension of the state of danger, we will manage the crisis also without them, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at the Monday sitting of Parliament in response to the reactions of parliamentary groups to his address delivered before the start of ordinary business.
“All European Union member states are facing similar challenges with relation to the pandemic caused by the new strain of the coronavirus, and we must prepare for long-term protective measures”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared at a press conference on Monday in Budapest following the first ever meeting of EU foreign ministers held in video conference form.
There are 188 Hungarian nationals in quarantine in Europe, and another 30 outside the continent, the head of the duty centre of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus infection said at an online press conference held on Monday.
Instead of political disputes and dissension, the time has come for standing together, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in his address before the start of ordinary business in Parliament on Monday.