The foreign ministry has received no reports of any Hungarians affected by the coronavirus either in Hungary or abroad.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said there are currently eight Hungarian citizens residing in China’s Hubei province where the virus emerged, seven of whom plan to leave the region.
According to MTI, the Hungarians will be evacuated by air and European Union member states were coordinating closely on getting their citizens out of the infected areas. The minister said Hungary is in contact with France, Germany and Portugal with a view to arranging the departure of the seven Hungarians from China.
Human Resources Minister Miklós Kásler said all Hungarian hospitals were ready to treat coronavirus patients if anybody is identified as carrying the virus. Suspicion has been raised in the case of two patients in Hungary so far, but coronavirus has been excluded in both cases.
National medical chief officer Cecília Müller noted that whereas the coronavirus may not be present in Hungary at the current time, the National Public Health Center (NNK) and staff of regional health authorities stand ready to identify the virus quickly should it enter the country.