COVID-19 in Hungary: daily figures break records

The 3,286 new cases represent a new daily high since the outbreak began in March, breaking the previous record of 3,149. The even-day moving average of new cases rose to 2,448, and there is no reason to believe the rising trend will come to an end anytime soon.

The number of fatalities was also at a record high yesterday as the virus claimed the lives of 65 patients. The trend is rising steeply, with the seven-day moving average now at 50, and this number can also be expected to continue increasing.

In rather menacing news, the number of coronavirus patients treated in hospital rose by 556 in 24 hours, also the biggest daily increase. The number of people receiving artificial ventilation increased by 12, but the jump in hospitalised patients foreshadows an increase in ventilated patients and subsequently in fatalities.

Authorities carried out 15,638 tests in the past 24 hours, more than the 14,159 average of the past week, but the underdetection rate still rose further as 21% of tests came back positive, indicating that the virus is spreading faster and that authorities are unable to track this precisely. With one in five tests positive, the system is likely unable to identify a substantial part of infected people, which means the actual number of coronavirus cases is probably several times the official figure.

Budapest again had the highest number of new cases in the past 24 hours at 688, while the weekly total rose to 3,251, standing out in national comparison. Pest county remains second with 384 new cases yesterday and 2,036 in a week. Daily case numbers were 276 in Csongrád-Csanád county and 256 in Bács-Kiskun county. As for weekly figures, only Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén was above 1,000 at 1,149 new cases confirmed.

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