Speaking at the Coronavirus Operational Group’s press conference this morning, State Secretary Katalin Novák said that “the government will continue supporting families during the coronavirus epidemic,” adding that the coronavirus poses a great challenge for every family.
“Since 2010, the government has been working on making it easier to start a family and build savings” Novák said. According to the state secretary, demographic data shows that the family-focused policy has already borne fruit, as the numbers of marriages and births have increased.
Novák then announced the continuation of family support measures already in place, including the CSOK home subsidy, car purchase support and construction of new daycare facilities. She also introduced new measures, such as job retraining programs, student loans for adults and the lifting of employee contributions in certain career paths.
“Thanks to the Family Protection Action Plan, the government is giving 800 billion forints back to families,” the state secretary said, adding that the current loan repayment moratorium covers CSOK loans and preferential “baby-waiting” loans as well.
Meanwhile, child care benefits (GYES) and child care allowances (GYED) will be extended until the end of the state of emergency.
Following State Secretary Novák’s statement, Chief Medical Officer Cecília Müller reported that in the last 24 hours, 11 people had succumbed to coronavirus in Hungary, while the number of confirmed infections increased by 78 to 895.
“We are trying to avoid large-scale infections with the restrictions,” Müller said. However, she added, based on experiences in other countries, the period of large-scale infections seems unavoidable.
According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Róbert Kiss, the number of movement restriction violations has increased nationwide, and police officers have resorted to sanctions in 5,998 cases. On Tuesday, he said, police officers arrested four people who were selling a “disinfectant” that was in fact a liquid not suited for disinfecting surfaces. Kiss revealed that the perpetrators had made HUF 23 million from their fraud.
As of this morning, the police had launched legal proceedings against 51 suspects for scaremongering and the spreading of fake news as well.