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PM Orbán: Hungary can start reopening “sometime after Easter”

The prime minister said the high number of daily infections and the number of available vaccines were “too much in contrast with each other for the time being”.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that two and a half million people will have received their first Covid shot “sometime after Easter”, which will open the door to a gradual reopening of the country.

During an interview with public news channel M1, the prime minister said schools will be reopened in the first stage, to be followed by shops with a new type of security measure put in place, which will involve allowing one customer per 10 square meters. This can be followed by the third and fourth stages of reopening, PM Orbán said but hasn't yet revealed those details.

The prime minister said the high number of daily infections and the number of available vaccines were “too much in contrast with each other for the time being”. He said that once the number of available vaccines increases, the number of infections will change and “enable a rational and sensible discussion about further steps of reopening”.

PM Orbán also promised to always inform the public one week ahead of introducing the next step and asked everyone to respect the rules. “There are not many rules and they are simple, clear and easy to understand,” he added. He called it highly important not to give room to anti-vaxxer sentiments. He said that generating anti-vaxxer sentiments and lobbying against vaccination was more than a mistake, it was a sin, because people who listen to anti-vaxxers and then refuse to get vaccinated could easily die. PM Orbán said he could understand that there were some who refused to get vaccinated but asked them at least not to discourage others from getting the jabs.

Photo credit: MTI