At present, the government is not aware of any coronavirus patient in Hungary, Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office stated at a press conference held on Wednesday where the Operational Corps announced new measures in addition to the 28-point action plan adopted due to the coronavirus in January.

Mr Gulyás said though due to the spread of the virus in Europe, there is little chance of Hungary being able to avoid impacts of the coronavirus, at this point in time, we are not aware of any coronavirus patient in Hungary.

Informing members of the press of the latest Tuesday evening data, the Minister said the number of infected persons had risen to 81,000 in 41 countries; 2,762 persons have died of the virus. In Europe there have been 12 fatalities due to the virus, 11 of them in Italy where the situation is the gravest.

He said the government is aware of two Hungarian patients outside the country, a woman living in Vienna and a man on board a Japanese ship.

He laid down that they will attempt to help every Hungarian national in trouble wherever they may be in the world. Those who requested have been transported back from Wuhan, he recalled. He added that they continuously monitor the state of the Hungarian who has been infected on board the Japanese ship, and if necessary, they quarantine Hungarians returning home.

Mr Gulyás said they will immediately inform the press if anyone is diagnosed with the viral illness in Hungary.

Now there is no room for disinformation which is a crime, he stressed.

In answer to a question, the Minister said the Operational Corps decides whether quarantine should be imposed anywhere. As there are no patients in Hungary at present, there is no reason for any such decision. However, if mass infections are detected in certain regions, the Operational Corps will adopt the necessary decision, he explained.

The Minister also pointed out that the epidemic will have a negative impact on the world economy, but at this point in time it is impossible to assess how seriously it will affect Hungary.

Regarding the Hungarians quarantined in Tenerife, Mr Gulyás recalled that some one thousand guests of a hotel have been quarantined, including five Hungarian nationals. According to the latest information, they are well; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is in contact with them.

He observed that they are checking the temperature of the passengers of flights originating from China, South Korea and North Italy.

Mr Gulyás said Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér had convened a six-party consultation for Thursday.

Spokesperson for the Operational Corps Police Major Kinga Láng-Bognár said there is no need for panic even in the event of the emergence of the virus in Hungary. The appearance of the virus does not mean that there is an epidemic, she pointed out.

She said they continue to advise everyone against travelling to the infected areas, in particular to North Italy. They are asking state-operated elementary and secondary schools not to organise trips to the infected territories.

Those who must nonetheless travel to Italy are asked to register with the consular services or the Operational Corps.

They are asking the personnel of hotels and guesthouses by the sides of major transport routes to cooperate with the authorities in the interest of filtering out any coronavirus cases. On the international services of the railway companies MÁV and GYSEV, disinfectants and body temperature gauges must be made available, and conductors, too, must be prepared for the proper course of action to be taken.

For the event of the emergence of coronavirus cases, the public service media have been ordered to keep members of the public informed on an ongoing basis, she said, adding that the face masks made by the residents of law enforcement institutions must be supplied to pharmacies.

They are calling upon everyone coming back from infected countries who detect symptoms to immediately contact their general practitioner and to abstain from contact with other members of the public, the Major said.

According to Ms. Láng-Bognár’s information, they have also tightened road controls at border crossing stations, with special regard to travellers coming from Italy. There are ongoing checks at airports as well; they are monitoring passengers arriving from China, South Korea and Italy.

They will launch a website as well as a Facebook account in order to keep people informed.

The spokesperson said the government has ordered the operation of the duty centre of the Operational Corps from Wednesday evening; the duty centre is headed by a senior officer of the National Police Service. The Operational Corps will provide updated information every day.

Minister of Human Capacities Miklós Kásler highlighted that the third version of the Hungarian protocol related to the coronavirus had been published on Tuesday, and sent to all general practitioners. This provides information about how to assess the illness, whom to notify in the case of any suspicion, and how to send on patients for observation and treatment, he added.

According to the Minister, the protocol is adjusted to the situation as at any time, and “it is a little more stringent and more firm than that typically followed in Europe”. In consequence, he explained, if anyone comes from an infected area and there is a high chance of that person having come into contact with the virus, he or she is quarantined. However, if the chances of infection are significantly lower, then the person concerned is only kept under observation.

By Mr Kásler’s account, these measures seek to ensure that we should not overreact to current events. This, however, does not mean that we should not prepare for a worst-case scenario. He drew attention to the fact that the Director-General of the World Health Organization, too, starts all his statements by calling upon members of the public to avoid panic.

In answer to a question, Mr Kásler also mentioned that the combinations of symptoms of the illness can be varied; many undergo the illness without even noticing or have very mild symptoms. He also said that the Hungarian coronavirus patient in Japan may return to Hungary when he has fully recovered, is completely symptom-free and has a negative test result for the virus.

(MTI)