Life in Hungary can be gradually resumed, according to a strict timetable, also with regard to the territorial differences of the coronavirus infection, Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said at an online press conference held on Thursday.

Two rules remain unchanged: the safety of those most at risk – the elderly – must be guaranteed, and it is also necessary to take territorial differences into consideration. Seventy per cent of active infected persons are in Budapest and Pest County, while the capital alone accounts for 70 per cent of all fatalities. Therefore, the restrictions on movement and other stringent measures must be kept in effect in Budapest as well as in some districts of Pest County, the Minister explained.

He also said, pursuant to the government’s decision, patients leaving and entering hospitals must be tested on a mandatory basis, similar to workers in elderly care homes.

He highlighted that, as part of the cooperation of the medical faculties of four universities, a representative research project will begin which will determine the percentage of the country’s total population that may have had the disease.

It is possible to state that, with 50 days of hard work, Hungary is now in a situation where health care is fully prepared even for the management of mass incidences of infection, Mr Gulyás said, indicating that the most important mission of the first phase of the coronavirus epidemic containment effort now coming to an end was to prepare the health care system.

He pointed out that we had managed to slow down the epidemic; the Hungarian numbers are favourable, and the number of infected persons has remained relatively low. However, in all such situations, we must prepare for a worst-possible-case scenario, and the government has taken action accordingly.

He stressed that also as regards the number of available ventilators which are key in the fight against the virus, Hungary is among the countries that are best-prepared.

Mr Gulyás said digital education outside the classroom will remain in effect in May; they will decide on the situation in June at a later date.

The Minister confirmed that parking will remain free throughout the country; this measure has proved to work well and has not resulted in a major increase in traffic. At the same time, it enables everyone who can not to use public transport which helps to restrict the spread of the infection.

He highlighted that the restrictions on events will also remain in force; no events with an audience of more than 500 persons are allowed to be held until 15 August.

He said they continue to ask the elderly to only leave their homes if it is absolutely necessary, while the shopping time slot between 9.00 a.m. and 12.00 p.m. reserved for them will be upheld. They are additionally asking everyone to wear face masks or to cover their mouths on public transport and in shops, and to keep a distance of one and a half metres, he added.

The Minister stressed that in the countryside the restrictions on movement will be lifted. They will be replaced with new, more relaxed regulations. However, they are asking everyone to observe the containment measures in the provinces as well.

He said from 4 May restaurants, hotels and cafes will be allowed to open their garden premises and terraces. Outdoor bathing facilities and outdoor museums will also be allowed to reopen. There will be no restrictions on the provision of services, while in amateur and professional sports athletes will be allowed to train and to hold events behind closed doors. Weddings, funerals, Masses and church services may be held in compliance with the earlier rules, he listed.

Hungary is expecting an apology from President of the European People’s Party Donald Tusk after the European Commission found Hungary’s measures adopted in connection with the pandemic to be in harmony with EU regulations, he said.

Mr Gulyás recalled that on Wednesday EU Commissioner Vera Jourová made it clear repeatedly that the Hungarian measures adopted in connection with the pandemic situation are in harmony with EU law as well as with the EU’s binding regulations and treaties.

The Minister said it gives rise to concern that there were some in Fidesz’s European party family – in the European People’s Party – who turned against Hungary, and levelled unfounded, untrue and insulting accusations at Hungary. It is especially sad, he said, that the EPP’s President also followed suit.

He added that the EPP’s President had earlier been one of the EU’s highest ranking officials, and in the wake of the Commission’s decision, he would be expected all the more to apologise for his former remarks.

He also said the conduct – that “Hungarian left-wing MEPs, all the way from Democratic Coalition (DK) to Jobbik” kept running to Brussels to press charges against their own country – was not only unfounded, but nothing short of shameful.

According to Mr Gulyás, there is a new opportunity for the opposition to reconsider whether it would perhaps be wiser to create national unity during the period of the containment of the epidemic.

The government has decided on simplifications in public administration; activities, with some exceptions apart, which are at present subject to licensing will in the future be subject to a simple reporting procedure, the Minister announced.

By Mr Gulyás’s account, if a person reports the commencement of an activity and the relevant authority does not prohibit the same within eight days, they are free to engage in the given activity from day nine.

He added that some two dozen cases would remain subject to licensing; the detailed rules will be released shortly.

He said it is to be hoped that with these simplifications, there will be fewer face-to-face interactions during the coronavirus epidemic, and at the same time, the administrative burdens of businesses will also decrease.

He said today there are around 3,000 to 4,000 different procedures in Hungary, and every year some 23 million licensing procedures are conducted. These require the personal involvement of around 84 per cent of the staff of government offices, meaning some 29,000 civil servants.

From 4 May, the government will lift the restrictions on private health care, he stated.

He said it is important to lift these restrictions because private health care is able to reduce the burden on public health care.

He added that restrictions in public health care will be lifted in four steps, at different times in respect of different fields of medicine. The decree containing the detailed rules will be released shortly, he said.

He pointed out that, in the present situation, Hungarian education is fully prepared for the organisation of the final examinations starting on Monday; these examinations can be conducted with minimum possible risks. He said more than 97 per cent of secondary school students in their final year have decided to take their final examinations now; the rest will do so in the autumn.

Mr Gulyás further informed the public that from Monday they will publish more data regarding the epidemic; they will publish data relating to incidences and fatalities separately for Budapest and those districts in Pest County where the restrictions on movement are being upheld, and for the rest of the country.

In answer to a question as to what the government is planning to do if, despite appeals, there will not be sufficient blood plasma available, the Minister said at this time they are testing a therapy in Hungarian health care which – it is to be hoped – could prove to be effective. However, it is as yet too early to jump to conclusions, and so he believes the question to be premature at this point in time.

The number of tests that must be performed on a given individual depends on the relevant medical protocol. At present, there are significant reserves of testing kits, and so there is no obstacle to performing multiple tests if necessary, he said in answer to another question. The government has also decided to accelerate the testing of health care workers, and to have all workers in elderly care homes as well as patients entering and leaving hospitals tested.

In answer to the question as to how to determine recovery in the case of persons in home quarantine, he said this, too, is determined by the relevant medical protocol in every instance. Answering an enquiry about whether schools could reopen during this school year, he pointed out that this remains uncertain; it depends on the epidemic situation. At this time, it is possible to state that until 2 June there will not be and there cannot be personal school attendance according to the normal rules. Schools must provide for the supervision of children if necessary, but this is the case also at present, he said.

He was further asked about whether they are expecting new participants to join the public works programme and whether they are planning related fiscal reallocations. Mr Gulyás said at one point in time, as many as 230,000 persons took part in the programme under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior. This number has fallen to 83,000, but it is obvious that, due to the crisis, it will increase. It is at the same time hard to predict by how much, he pointed out. If necessary, the programme can be extended; within the present boundaries, people can be given “meaningful jobs” in water management, policing work and other public service projects, he said.

The Minister highlighted that the government is ready and willing to help local governments. At the same time, he confirmed that in the state of danger burdens must be borne jointly. The losses of the central budget are much more significant than the losses local governments will sustain pro rata. The government is preparing to do everything it can in the second half of the year to restart the economy. The goal is to have more projects, not fewer; this also serves the development of settlements best. Therefore, they are planning to help settlements with a number of projects, he indicated.

It is to be hoped that it will be possible to organise programmes for the 20 August national holiday; however, at this time, no one can make responsible predictions about this, he said in answer to another enquiry.

Regarding the assistance to be provided for the creative and live music industry, he said the cabinet has already given this sector some help, but they appreciate that in many other areas of culture, too, there are serious problems. They welcome the civic initiative launched in the field, and there will be government measures that will serve to promote it, he indicated. Next week cultural talks will be held – it is presumed, with the attendance of the Prime Minister – at which they will seek to explore possible options.

Regarding the proposal on speed restrictions tabled by Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony, he said in the present situation any haste is positively harmful. Presenting such unprepared proposals and declaring them adopted in just one day is not particularly useful. If the Mayor of Budapest has proposals regarding traffic in Budapest, he should discuss them with the group leaders of the Metropolitan General Assembly and should engage in social consultations; Gergely Karácsony should follow the practice that he promised in his own campaign.

Personally, he has strong doubts as to whether the measures suggested in the proposal point in the right direction, he observed.

In answer to a question regarding the future of the Southern city gate project, he said this is a very important plan of the government which is also supported by the Metropolitan Council of Public Developments. The development in South Pest and North Csepel is the largest urban rehabilitation project of the past century, and Budapest’s greenest development at present. He said the project will also contribute to improving the student accommodation situation in higher education.

Regarding the opinion of the advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the Röszke transit zone, he said this is not the decision of the European Court of Justice. He added that during the procedure the advocate general’s opinion is an important stage, and in the vast majority of cases, the final decision coincides with the opinion. He highlighted that the opinion is contrary to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights. Hungary has fought for the possibility of protecting its borders since 2015, and in this fight the EU should have supported Hungary; however, this opinion is totally contrary to this. The court is making an attempt to frustrate the possibility of effective European border protection. The Hungarian government believes that the transit zone has proved to work, and it is to be hoped that the court will not embrace the advocate general’s opinion, he laid down.

In answer to the question as to why the Mayor of Budapest was not invited to the Wednesday cabinet meeting, Mr Gulyás said there were no changes in the restrictions concerning Budapest. The government’s Wednesday decision related not to Budapest, but to the provinces. He observed that at this point Gergely Karácsony is not a member of the government, and the Prime Minister is responsible for the composition of his cabinet.

Regarding a statement made by Speaker of the House László Kövér that the opposition does not form part of the Hungarian nation, Mr Gulyás said the Speaker of the House spoke about the opposition in “rather restrained terms” compared with the way the opposition speaks about the government even amidst the present crisis situation. He said the government-party community has expressed openness to national cooperation a number of times in recent months; however, the conduct manifested by the opposition in the past few weeks does not give them the right to speak about national unity.

In answer to the question as to whether the 30,000 hospital beds vacated due to the coronavirus epidemic will be reactivated after the epidemic and whether they are planning any health care reforms and the setting up of a separate health care ministry, the Minister said it would not serve the country’s best interests if political decisions were adopted about the technical issues of health care during the period of the containment effort.

Mr Gulyás described the health care containment effort of the past six weeks as successful; in his view, health care is now fully prepared even for the management of a mass epidemic situation, and the management of health care has played a key role in this.

In answer to a question, he also said Finance Minister Mihály Varga will submit the 2021 budget to Parliament on 19 May.

In the context of the international sports events to be hosted by Hungary in the next two to three years, Mr Gulyás stressed that once Hungary is over the crisis caused by the epidemic, the goal is to attract tourism back within the shortest possible time and for Budapest to host as many sports events, conferences and other events as possible.

Answering questions about this summer’s tourism season, Government Spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi said the government is expecting the domestic tourism season to be kickstarted, even if at some delay, with regard to the epidemic. However, we will have to expect foreign tourists to stay away, and it is important to offset this in some way. This is why the government has decided to raise the limits of the amounts that can be transferred to the ‘SZÉP’ recreational benefit cards, she added.

Regarding holidays abroad, she said the countries of the tourist destinations most favoured by Hungarians are planning to relax restrictive measures in the coming weeks; however, in the present situation, the European Union will need to consult further on the matter.

She encouraged everyone to spend their summer holidays in Hungary because by doing so they can also support the jobs of the 400,000 people working in tourism and catering.

The government is planning to organise retraining and other educational programmes and if necessary, to extend the public works programme. It will resort to all possible means to ensure that there will be no one without a job offer from the State three months after the loss of their job if they fail to find gainful employment on the market, Mr Gulyás said in answer to a question about employment.

Regarding Hunguest Hotels’ redundancy announcement, the Minister said tourism and catering sustained the greatest loss of work force, and so there is nothing surprising about this news item. Several hotel operators have announced substantially greater redundancies.

In the context of the state wage support scheme, Mr Gulyás said they will make significant funds available, meaning tens of billions of forints monthly, beginning from 1 May.

He said in explanation of the retail special tax that the government has always regarded this tax as justified because it is right for multinational supermarket chains to contribute to the country’s burdens. Due to a former EU decision, this tax had to be withdrawn, but as subsequently the court decided in favour of Hungary, they will reintroduce it. These supermarket chains can be operated with a fair profit even against the background of this additional burden, he added.

Regarding the consumer protection measures tightened due to the epidemic, he informed the public that the authorities are intensifying inspections. Up to the end of April, they have inspected more than a thousand retail stores, and have instituted procedures in the case of more than 80 shops, including due to price-related violations.

The Minister highlighted in the context of the restrictive measures adopted by local governments in connection with the epidemic that so far the majority of municipalities have used proportionately and well the authority which they will also be given for the 1 May long weekend. However, they will not receive such extra powers thereafter. At the same time, there were some instances of overreaching; he mentioned as an example that some settlements banned cyclists from crossing their territories.

In answer to a question about the expected resumption of the functioning of the European Parliament, he said we will know that the EP has resumed its functioning when we learn about the news that it has condemned Hungary in its umpteenth decision.

Regarding Transcarpathia, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that Hungary will block the NATO-Ukraine association agreement until Kiev restores the earlier legislation which provided an appropriate framework for the education of Hungarians in Transcarpathia in their mother tongue.

 

 

(MTI)