Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that by April 13, the number of Hungarians inoculated against Covid-19 could reach 3 million, “allowing a new opportunity for people to return to their earlier ways of life."
Speaking to public broadcaster Kossuth Rádió, PM Orbán said that on Friday, the number of Hungarians who have received a single shot reached 2,156,680, while 863,000 are now fully inoculated. By the weekend, the number of single-shot recipients will reach 2.4 million, while that number will be 3 million a week later and over 3.5 million in two weeks’ time.
PM Orbán said the ratio of Covid sufferers, the amount of vaccines available and the number of vaccinated “will improve nicely” in the next few weeks. In two or three weeks’ time, he added, the country would reach a tipping point when vaccinations have a palpable impact on the number of fatalities and new infections. The vaccination process, he said, would speed up as more vaccines arrive in the country, adding that hopefully shipments from the West would arrive more predictably than before. “April 13, give or take a day, could be the point at which we have exceeded three million [who have received a single shot of vaccine], allowing us to take another step towards a return to our earlier way of life,” he said.
The prime minister said that “one or two days after Easter”, 2.5 million Hungarians will have received their first shots, and the opening hours of shops and services could be extended. He noted that the relevant decree has already been published, allowing businesses over two weeks to make preparations to reopen.
PM Orbán said that on April 19, kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools will be reopened. The next step will be taken when the vaccinated number reaches 3-3.5 million, he said, adding that he would provide details next Friday.
Photo credit: MTI