Economy 25 March 2021, 10:00am

COVID-19 in Hungary: fatalities hit new high

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There were 9,637 new confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infections and 272 fatalities yesterday, the official government website said Thursday morning. The latter is a new record high. There are 11,760 coronavirus patients in hospital, a slight decrease, but the number of patients on ventilators rose further to 1,467.

The much-awaited slowing is not apparent in this morning’s virus statistics, as there were nearly 10,000 new cases confirmed on Wednesday. The seven-day moving average continues to rise steeply, and there is no sign of the curve flattening at the moment.

Today’s virus statistics are disheartening because the effect of the tighter measures introduced on 8 March should already be at least partly evident. This means the lockdown in itself is insufficient to contain the epidemic. The health care system is already past its capacities and cannot provide the best possible treatment to all patients. Unless further steps are taken, the current situation wil persist for a long time, with many more fatalities to come.

Hungary is now second in per capita coronavirus fatality rate globally, and the situation appears to be getting even worse as

272 coronavirus patients died in the past 24 hours, the highest daily figure since the outbreak began last March.

According to the latest data, pressure on hospitals eased slightly as the number of coronavirus patients decreased by 45, although some of that may unfortunately be due to deaths.

Reports from hospitals and the medical chamber indicate that the situation remains critical in health care institutions. The number of people receiving artificial ventilation rose by 44 to 1,467.

Meanwhile, the vaccination drive continues, and 69% of people above 65 who had registered have already been vaccinated. There were 81,493 shots administered yesterday, including 51,409 first shots and 43,688 second shots. Vaccination coverage now stands at 17.8%, and nearly 5.4% of the population have got both shots.

There were 35,417 tests applied in the past 24 hours, 27.2% of which came back positive. The increasing positivity rate indicates that authorities are less and less able to keep track of the outbreak.