Economy 17 March 2020, 12:40pm

Borders, stores closed, drastic measures accompany COVID-19 outbreak in Hungary

Portfolio

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has on Monday announced the closure of the country's borders to non-residents, and that entertainment facilities, cinemas, theatres and other cultural institutions must be closed. Restaurants and cafeterias may remain open only until 3 P.M., while the cabinet ordered schools last Friday not to open on Monday (16 March). No extensive quarantine has been adopted yet.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has already swept across 162 countries and territories. Out of the the more than 185,000 people infected 7,330 have died and almost 6,200 patients are in serious or critical condition.

The battle against COVID-19 has entered a new phase in Hungary on Monday. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced new restrictive measures in Parliament. Many of these have already been adopted elsewhere in Europe and in the neighbouring countries. Some of the previously implemented measures have been overwritten by the new ones, others remain in effect. The measures adopted as part of a state of emergeny declared last week were the following:

Control on the border with Austria and Slovenia was reinstated
No entry for coronavirus hotspots (China, Iran, Italy, South Korea)
Universities, colleges closed indefinitely
In-door events for over 100 people and out-door events for over 500 people were banned
Subsequently schools were closed, education continues on a digital platform (remote learnig)
Hospital visits were banned
A re-allocation of funds is in progress in health care and the export of protective gear was banned

The aforementioned measures were put in place in several steps, and some were repealed by a new decree Orbán announced yesterday, as rules were tightened in several areas. The new regulations are the following:

Hungary's borders are sealed as of today, only Hungarian citizens may enter
All music and dancing events are banned as of midnight
People are asked to put off every event except for gatherings of the immediate family
Public venues such as bars, pubs, cinemas, theatres and libraries and other cultural institutions are to be closed to the public
Sports events may be held only behind closed doors should the organisers decide to go ahead with them
Restaurants, cafeterias, and all stores must close at 3 P.M., except grocery stores, pharmacies, petrol stations and tobacco stores.

The above tightening moves Hungary closer to global practice, but some countries, such as Slovakia, put into effect even more rigorous measures. The number of COVID-19 cases jumped from 39 on Monday to 50 by today, although the actual number of people infected is estimated to be significantly higher.

Hungarian authorities are often criticised for not running enough tests, either numerically or relative to the size of the population. There's some truth to those complaints. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has just emphasised the utmost importance of testing.

“All countries must take a comprehensive approach. But the most effective way to prevent infections and save lives is breaking the chains of transmission. And to do that you must test and isolate. You cannot fight a fire blindfolded. And we cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva on Monday.

Our key message is: test, test, test!

Not to mention that Hungary - unlike every country in the European Union - gives no breakdown of how the coronavirus is spreading. Besides the number of patients who tested positive for COVID-19, we don't know anything about their geographical distribution, sex or age.

These are the restrictive measures that have been implemented so far to curb the spread of COVID-19:

universities, collegeges remain closed indefinitely (education goes on via distance learning)
schools are also closed indefinitely, distance learning in place
hospital visits are banned; non-vital surgeries are delayed, doctors over 65 years of age are not allowed to get in contact with patients, public health services are suspended
borders are closed, only Hungarians may enter
events are banned as of midnight (except for family gatherings)
public venues, including cinemas, theatres and other cultural events are closed to the public
sports events may be held only behind closed doors
restaurants, cafeterias and stores must close at 3 P.M., except for grocery stores, pharmacies, petrol stations, tobacco stores
Spas in Budapest are closed and so are kindergartens and créches.
Tickets can no longer be purchased on buses. Front doors are kept closed at all times to protect drivers from infection.

The meaures may seem drastic, but the situation demands them to be in place. China's example shows that swift and decisive action can help curb the spread of the virus or even contain it completely. There is always room for stricter measures, though. Even whole settlements can be sealed off. People may be officially banned from leaving their homes. The cabinet is now only asking every nicely to stay indoors.