Officials have stated that new restrictions could come into force due to the spread of mutant strains of the coronavirus.
“The limitation of social interactions is now more important than ever,” Head of Department at the National Public Health Center, Ágnes Galgóczi said in an interview with HírTV. Proposing a way to reduce these interactions, Galgóczi recommended that shopping centers, schools and “non-essential” shops should be closed up temporarily, for a possible duration of two weeks.
“The temporary closing of shopping centers and schools could be considered due to the rapid spread of different virus mutations,” the NNK official said.
According to epidemiologist Galgóczi, even a two-week closing could result in “serious” improvement in terms of the spread of coronavirus in Hungary. “It must also be considered that primary schools temporarily shift to digital education,” she said, adding that there is a “grave dilemma” behind imposing new restrictions, as, on the one hand, nearly 700,000 Hungarians have already been vaccinated, but in the meantime the third wave of the coronavirus has arrived in Hungary with more contagious mutations that cause more severe disease.
The Hungarian government adheres to the principle that whenever there is a reopening of a certain sector, that reopening must be permanent. According to multiple government officials, it would not make sense to lift restrictions only to reintroduce them a few weeks later.
The restrictions in force in Hungary have, in fact, remained the same since last November, and thanks to this consistency, Hungary managed to come out among the top performers in Europe in managing the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo credit: koronavirus.gov.hu