COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary

The COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. On March 4th, 2020, the first cases in Hungary were announced. The first coronavirus-related death was announced on March 15th on the government's official website.
On March 18th, Surgeon General Cecília Müller announced that the virus had spread to every part of the country.

Background

At the end of January 2020, a Hungarian operational staff was formed, which was led by Sándor Pintér Interior Minister and Miklós Kásler, Minister of Human Resources, and included

Surgeon General Cecília Müller,
Károly Papp, Director of Security Department of Interior Ministry,
János Balogh, National Police Leader, and the directors of National High Directorate of Disaster Management, Anti-Terrorism Center, Central Hospital of South Pest, National Healthcare Supplying Service and National Ambulance.

Staff has immediately announced its plan for security against the spread of virus. After detecting the virus in the country, they announced that operational staff would hold daily meetings at noon.
On 1 February, the spokesperson of National Command of Penalty Execution announced that prisoners of Debrecen and Sátoraljaújhely had started the production of sanitary masks. They produce 20 000 masks daily in a 12-hour shift, which are stored in different repositories all around the country, and continually delivered to general practitioners.
As at the beginning the pandemic was concentrated in and around Wuhan, the source of the virus, Hungarians living there who wanted to move back to Europe were transported home through France. The affected seven persons were under quarantine for two weeks. As they remained healthy during the next two weeks, they were released on 16 February.
Due to the events and news connected to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in February 2020, several goods—such as antiseptic arm cleaning materials, masks and non-perishable food – were in short supply in a lot of shops in Hungary. Tamás Schanda, strategical and political under-secretary of Innovation and the Science Ministry said "The Government understands the concerns of the people, but experts say it is unnecessary and pointless to hoard non-perishable food.” The accumulation of goods declined quite quickly, and the detection of the virus in March did not cause measurable problems in shops.
The Government of Hungary launched its official webpage and official Facebook page about the novel coronavirus, both on 4 March 2020.

Infections

The first two known cases were students from Iran, who were studying in Hungary. One of them was enrolled at the Pharmacy Faculty of Semmelweis University. The student did not comply with the preventive measures required by the university as a precaution. He already visited his primary care physician and he was diagnosed with bacterial infection so that he didn't have to quarantine himself, and instead, he attended courses held in English with 16 other students. The other person studied at the Szent István University in Gödöllő, who after returning from Iran, went to a self-declared quarantine. He did not attend lectures at the university, but went to Saint Ladislaus Hospital, and declared that he had arrived from an infected territory.
Both of them were transported to Saint Ladislaus Hospital. They had mild symptoms. They arrived back in Hungary on 26 and 28 February.
A third infection was announced on 5 March. He was a 69-year old British man who was working in Milan and travelled frequently between Milan and Debrecen. He developed a fever, so he visited his doctor. He was diagnosed and transported to Gyula Kenézy Hospital. Shortly after, the fourth infected had been announced. She was a girlfriend of one of the Iranian students that were first diagnosed. She was proactively isolated when the virus was diagnosed in the Iranians.
The fifth infected was identified on 7 March, a 70-year-old man, who may have been infected by his son. The son previously visited some other countries, such as Italy.
The sixth and seventh infected persons were announced on 8 March. They were exposed to the earlier diagnosed five infected persons. One of them was a friend of one of the Iranian students who was participating in a birthday party. The other was the Hungarian wife of the British man in Debrecen. The next day, two other people were found to be infected, and, like the previous day, one of the infected had also come in contact with the first infected Iranian student. The other one was the wife of the elder man who has been isolated. On 10 March, three new cases were discovered with students related to the first infected Iranian student, so they had remained under quarantine. A day later, a Hungarian woman was announced as the 13th infected. She had come into contact with the first person isolated in Debrecen. Due to this she was hospitalised for several days.
The first death which may have been due to the coronavirus occurred on 11 March. A 99-year-old woman was in hospital, where she was operated on at Saint Imre Hospital. After the successful operation, she had fever and pneumonia. Her daughter – who visited her regularly – got pneumonia the same day. Later, the daughter was diagnosed with COVID-19. Her mother was never tested and so not registered in connection with coronavirus.
Three new cases were reported on 12 March. One was a student from Iran whilst the other two were Hungarian citizens. One of the two Hungarians was a woman who had been in Saint Ladislaus Hospital for several days, the other one was a man travelling from Israel. On 12 March, János Szlávik, head of Infectological Department of South Pest Center Hospital, confirmed that an Iranian citizen, held in quarantine, had recovered. All of his test results were negative.
On 13 March, the number of known cases increased by 3, all of whom were Hungarian citizens. One of them, a 67-year-old man, had met several people from abroad in connection with his work. One other was a 41-year-old man, who had recently been in the Netherlands and England. The third one was a 27-year-old man, who had travelled to Israel with one of the already known infected people.
On 14 March, 11 new people were diagnosed with COVID-19, bringing the total to 30; 6 were announced in the morning and 5 in the evening. All of the new cases were Hungarian citizens. The newly diagnosed patients include people who had been to Italy, and a person whose family member had returned from Austria.
On the 15 March, 2 more people had been diagnosed with COVID-19, for a total of 32. Both of these cases were Hungarian citizens.
On the same day, Sándor Szaniszló, the Mayor of Pestszentlőrinc-Pestszentimre announced the death of a patient at St Ladislaus Hospital who had been diagnosed with coronavirus. He is the first official victim of the pandemic in Hungary. He was a 75 years-old man who had died due to infection with SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and the COVID-19 sickness.
A second recovered patient had left the hospital on the 16 March, who was from Iran.
On 18 March, 47 out of the 58 confirmed infected people were Hungarian, 9 Iranian, 1 British, and 1 Kazakh citizen.
On 19 March, there were 9 Iranian, 1 British, 1 Kazakh, and 62 Hungarian infected; all together there were 73 cases. Six were in critical condition, and were in the Intensive Department of South Pest Center Hospital.
On 20 March, there were 85 confirmed infected people: 10 Iranian, 1 British, 1 Kazakh, and 73 Hungarian citizens. Six of them were in critical condition, whilst 7 had recovered. On this day, three men, a 79, a 68 and a 53-year-old, had died of the 85 infected; the latter had multiple chronic diseases as well.
On 21 March, the number of confirmed cases was 103: 10 Iranian, 2 British, 1 Kazakh, 1 Vietnamese, and 89 Hungarian citizens.
On 22 March, the number of confirmed cases was 131: 10 Iranian, 2 British, 1 Kazakh, 1 Vietnamese, and 117 Hungarian citizens.

Graph charts

Infections by County (as of April 29, 2020){{cite web |title=Fertőzöttek Koronavírus |url=https://koronavirus.gov.hu/terkepek/fertozottek |website=koronavirus.gov.hu |publisher=Government of Hungary |accessdate=10 April 2020}}

Date
Date
	8	20	3	6	17	12	25	8	2	4	12	5	89	11	24	7	8	10	6	215	492
	8	19	3	6	17	13	26	9	3	5	12	5	98	11	25	7	9	10	7	232	525
	15	19	3	6	21	18	28	10	3	7	13	6	122	11	27	7	9	10	7	243	585
	17	21	4	6	23	21	28	11	3	8	15	7	124	12	28	7	9	10	8	261	623
	18	21	6	6	25	21	33	13	3	7	14	8	134	12	28	7	11	10	10	291	678
	19	23	8	7	30	24	34	14	3	8	14	10	142	15	28	10	11	10	10	313	733
	19	23	8	7	32	24	34	15	4	8	14	10	142	15	28	12	11	10	11	317	744
	19	23	9	7	32	39	36	15	4	10	15	11	153	16	34	13	12	13	11	345	817
	19	23	10	7	40	49	37	15	4	10	15	12	164	17	36	13	12	14	11	387	895
	19	23	11	10	40	55	37	15	4	11	17	12	183	17	36	13	12	18	19	428	980
	21	28	11	10	42	72	43	17	5	12	17	12	194	17	37	13	13	23	23	580	1190
	22	29	11	13	44	82	44	17	8	13	20	17	199	18	37	13	14	28	26	655	1310
	22	29	11	44	45	93	60	18	9	14	20	18	215	20	38	13	14	30	28	669	1410
	22	29	11	45	47	102	61	18	9	14	20	19	214	20	38	13	14	31	28	703	1458
	22	29	12	45	51	106	61	19	11	15	20	19	220	21	40	13	14	32	30	732	1512
	22	29	12	48	52	114	61	19	12	15	20	19	234	21	41	13	14	32	31	770	1579
	22	32	12	50	52	122	62	19	13	16	21	19	249	21	42	14	14	34	33	805	1652	729	60
	22	33	12	52	54	128	63	19	13	17	23	20	259	21	43	14	14	36	37	883	1763	847	63
	23	33	13	52	55	141	63	19	13	18	25	20	264	21	43	14	14	37	37	929	1834	829	60
	23	33	13	52	57	146	63	19	13	19	32	22	278	23	43	14	14	41	40	971	1916	784	61
	23	33	13	53	57	159	64	19	13	19	43	22	286	24	43	14	14	43	40	1002	1984	811	60
	23	34	13	53	57	175	64	21	14	19	48	23	293	24	44	14	14	43	40	1082	2098	842	82
	23	35	13	53	57	181	75	22	14	19	48	23	305	24	43	15	15	48	42	1113	2168	825	63
	23	33	13	53	57	213	72	21	14	19	64	23	317	24	43	16	14	50	42	1173	2284	850	61
	23	33	13	54	60	240	74	22	15	20	67	23	329	24	43	16	14	50	42	1221	2383	877	61
	23	33	13	59	63	246	74	23	16	20	70	23	339	24	44	16	14	52	44	1247	2443	899	54
	23	33	13	62	63	251	75	23	16	21	72	23	350	24	45	16	14	54	48	1274	2500	927	56
	23	33	14	62	86	263	76	23	16	21	87	23	352	24	45	16	14	54	65	1286	2583	931	52
	23	33	14	62	89	265	77	23	17	22	92	23	358	24	47	16	14	56	89	1305	2649	976	49
	23	34	14	63	96	269	77	23	17	22	93	24	368	25	47	17	14	56	98	1347	2727	983	50
	23	34	15	63	97	271	77	23	17	22	101	24	375	26	47	17	14	58	103	1368	2775	998	54
	23	34	16	64	97	296	78	23	17	22	110	24	380	27	47	17	14	58	108	1408	2863	983	49
	23	35	16	65	98	298	79	23	17	22	121	24	394	28	47	17	14	58	115	1448	2942	1008	52
2020.05.03.	23	36	16	65	101	300	79	23	17	22	132	24	400	28	47	17	14	58	123	1473	2998	1005	51
2020.05.04.	23	36	16	65	101	304	79	23	17	22	137	24	401	28	47	17	14	58	139	1484	3035	1027	55
2020.05.05.	23	36	17	65	101	306	81	23	17	23	141	24	402	28	47	17	14	58	139	1503	3065	982	55
2020.05.06.	23	36	17	65	101	310	81	23	17	23	148	25	410	28	47	17	14	58	140	1528	3111	964	50
	23	36	17	65	102	312	81	23	17	23	157	25	414	28	47	17	14	58	147	1544	3150	968	50
	23	36	17	65	105	312	82	23	17	23	162	25	420	28	47	17	14	59	151	1552	3178	891	74
2020.05.09.	23	36	17	63	106	317	82	23	16	23	166	25	424	28	47	17	14	60	164	1562	3213	873
2020.05.10.	23	36	17	63	106	333	83	23	16	23	168	25	434	28	47	17	14	60	168	1579	3263	812	50
2020.05.11.	23	36	17	64	107	333	83	23	16	23	173	25	438	28	47	17	14	60	170	1587	3284	782	42
2020.05.12.	23	36	16	64	108	338	83	23	17	23	174	25	445	28	47	17	14	62	175	1595	3313	746	45
2020.05.13.	23	36	11	64	113	338	83	23	17	23	176	25	456	28	47	17	14	62	176	1609	3341	688	45
2020.05.14.	23	36	11	64	114	339	83	23	17	23	180	25	459	28	47	17	16	62	194	1619	3380	658	49
2020.05.15.	23	36	11	64	114	340	83	23	17	24	183	25	460	28	48	17	16	63	206	1636	3417	614	46
2020.05.16.	24	36	11	64	114	355	83	23	17	24	184	25	467	28	48	17	17	63	218	1655	3473	570	45
2020.05.17.	24	36	11	64	114	356	83	23	17	24	195	25	473	28	48	17	17	63	219	1672	3509	562	47
2020.05.18.	24	36	11	64	114	359	84	23	17	25	198	25	476	28	49	17	17	63	224	1681	3535	568	46
2020.05.19.	24	36	11	64	114	359	84	23	17	25	199	25	486	28	49	17	17	63	226	1689	3556
2020.05.20.	24	36	11	64	114	361	84	23	13	25	206	26	496	28	49	17	17	63	231	1710	3598	539	29
2020.05.21.	24	36	11	64	114	363	84	24	13	26	214	27	500	28	49	17	17	63	241	1726	3641	510	27
2020.05.22.	24	36	11	61	114	365	84	24	13	26	222	28	510	28	38	17	17	63	243	1754	3678	483	23
2020.05.23.	24	36	11	61	114	366	84	24	13	26	234	31	516	28	38	17	17	63	245	1765	3713	462	21
2020.05.24.	24	36	11	61	114	367	84	24	13	26	236	32	525	28	38	17	17	63	245	1780	3741	442	28
2020.05.25.	24	36	11	61	114	368	84	24	13	26	243	32	527	28	38	17	17	64	245	1784	3756		30
2020.05.26.	24	36	11	61	114	368	84	24	13	26	244	34	531	28	38	17	17	65	247	1789	3771	436	27
2020.05.27.	24	36	11	61	114	369	84	24	13	26	243	35	535	28	39	17	17	65	247	1805	3793	430	25
2020.05.28.	24	36	11	61	115	369	84	24	13	17	250	36	541	29	38	17	17	65	251	1818	3816	404	24
2020.05.29.	24	36	11	61	115	370	84	24	13	18	252	37	547	29	40	17	17	65	252	1829	3841	384	24
2020.05.30.	24	36	11	61	115	370	84	25	14	18	259	42	550	29	40	17	17	65	252	1838	3867	414	22
2020.05.31.	24	36	11	61	115	371	85	25	14	18	259	43	552	29	40	17	17	65	253	1841	3876	419	25
2020.06.01.	24	36	11	61	115	371	85	25	14	18	262	43	554	29	41	17	17	66	255	1848	3892	417	25
2020.06.02.	24	36	11	61	115	371	85	25	14	18	264	43	563	29	41	17	17	66	255	1866	3921	427	24
2020.06.03.	24	36	11	61	115	371	85	25	13	18	268	47	563	29	42	17	17	66	255	1868	3931	414	24
2020.06.04.	24	36	11	61	115	371	85	25	14	18	272	47	567	29	43	17	17	66	256	1880	3954	406	24
2020.06.05.	24	36	11	61	115	371	85	25	14	18	273	47	575	29	43	17	17	66	257	1886	3970	397	21
2020.06.06.	24	37	11	61	115	373	85	25	14	17	278	50	579	22	43	17	17	66	258	1898	3990	387	21
2020.06.07.	24	37	11	62	115	374	85	25	14	17	283	52	582	22	43	17	17	66	259	1903	4008	386	21
2020.06.08.	24	37	11	62	115	374	85	25	14	17	283	52	584	22	44	17	17	66	259	1906	4014	385	21
2020.06.09.	24	37	11	62	115	374	85	25	14	17	285	52	585	22	44	17	17	66	259	1906	4017	365	20
2020.06.10.	24	38	11	62	115	374	85	26	14	17	287	52	589	22	44	14	17	67	259	1910	4027	344	20
2020.06.11.	20	37	11	62	116	374	85	27	14	17	290	52	590	22	47	14	17	67	260	1917	4039	321	19
2020.06.12.	20	39	13	62	117	375	85	27	14	17	295	49	592	22	47	14	17	66	260	1922	4053	290	20
2020.06.13.	20	39	13	62	118	376	86	27	14	17	298	51	593	22	47	13	17	63	261	1927	4064	283	20
2020.06.14.	20	39	13	62	118	376	86	27	14	17	298	51	595	22	47	13	17	63	261	1930	4069	275	20
2020.06.15.	21	39	13	62	118	376	86	27	14	17	300	51	597	22	47	13	17	63	261	1932	4076	275	19
2020.06.16.	20	39	13	62	118	376	86	27	14	17	298	51	593	22	47	13	17	63	261	1927	4077	255	17
2020.06.17.	20	39	13	62	118	376	86	27	14	18	301	51	597	22	48	13	17	63	261	1932	4078	210	16
2020.06.18.	20	39	13	62	117	376	86	27	14	18	301	51	597	22	48	13	17	63	261	1934	4079	199	15
2020.06.19.	20	39	13	62	117	376	86	27	14	18	301	51	598	22	48	13	17	63	261	1935	4081	192	15
2020.06.20.	20	39	13	62	117	376	86	27	14	18	301	51	600	22	48	13	17	63	260	1939	4086	186	15
2020.06.21.	20	39	13	62	117	376	86	27	14	18	301	51	604	22	48	13	17	63	260	1943	4094	185	15
2020.06.22.	20	39	13	62	117	376	86	27	14	19	302	51	605	22	50	13	17	63	260	1946	4102	185	15
2020.06.23.	20	39	13	62	117	376	86	27	14	19	302	51	608	22	50	13	17	63	260	1948	4107	183	14
2020.06.24.	20	40	13	62	117	376	86	27	14	19	302	51	609	22	50	13	17	63	261	1952	4114	183	13
2020.06.25.	20	40	13	62	112	376	86	27	14	19	305	51	615	22	50	13	17	63	261	1957	4123	182	13
2020.06.26.	20	40	13	62	112	376	86	27	14	19	305	51	616	22	51	13	17	63	261	1959	4127	179	13
2020.06.27.	20	40	13	62	112	376	86	21	14	19	307	51	617	22	51	13	17	63	261	1973	4138	174	11
2020.06.28.	20	40	13	62	112	376	86	22	14	19	307	51	617	22	51	13	17	63	262	1975	4142	172	9
2020.06.29.	20	40	13	62	112	376	86	22	14	19	307	51	618	22	51	13	17	63	262	1977	4145	170	9
2020.06.30.	20	40	13	62	112	377	86	22	14	19	307	52	624	22	51	14	17	63	262	1978	4155	169	9
2020.07.01.	20	40	13	62	112	377	86	22	14	19	307	52	625	22	51	14	17	63	262	1979	4157	169	8
2020.07.02.	21	40	13	62	112	378	86	22	15	19	307	52	627	22	51	14	17	63	262	1983	4166	157	8
2020.07.03.	21	40	13	63	112	378	87	22	18	19	307	52	627	22	52	14	17	63	262	1983	4172	150	9
2020.07.04.	21	40	13	63	112	378	87	22	18	17	307	52	629	22	52	13	17	63	262	1986	4174	140	8
2020.07.05.	21	40	13	65	113	378	87	22	19	17	307	52	631	22	53	13	17	63	262	1988	4183	144	8
2020.07.06.	21	40	13	70	113	379	87	22	19	17	307	52	631	22	53	13	17	63	262	1988	4189	144	8
2020.07.07.	21	40	13	82	113	379	88	23	20	17	307	52	632	22	53	13	17	63	262	1988	4205	142	7
2020.07.08.	21	40	13	84	113	379	88	23	20	17	307	52	635	22	53	13	17	63	262	1988	4210	132	6
2020.07.09.	23	40	15	85	113	379	89	23	20	17	307	52	639	22	53	13	17	63	262	1988	4220	131	6
2020.07.10.	24	40	15	86	114	379	89	23	20	17	307	52	639	22	53	13	17	63	262	1988	4223	133	6
2020.07.11.	24	40	15	88	115	379	89	23	20	17	308	52	640	22	53	13	17	63	262	1989	4229	129	5
2020.07.12.	25	40	15	88	116	379	89	23	20	17	308	52	640	22	53	13	17	63	262	1992	4234	128	5
2020.07.13.	25	40	15	97	116	379	89	24	20	17	308	52	641	22	53	13	18	63	262	1993	4247	127	5
2020.07.14.	25	40	15	100	116	379	89	26	22	17	308	52	644	22	53	13	18	63	262	1994	4258	131	5
2020.07.15.	25	40	15	100	117	379	89	26	22	17	308	52	645	22	53	13	18	63	262	1997	4263	125	5
2020.07.16.	25	40	15	105	124	379	89	26	22	17	308	52	645	22	53	13	18	63	262	2001	4279	109	5
2020.07.17.	25	41	15	108	125	379	89	26	22	18	308	52	648	22	53	13	18	63	262	2006	4293	83	4
2020.07.18.	25	41	15	115	130	379	90	25	23	18	308	52	651	23	53	13	18	65	262	2009	4315	83	3
2020.07.19.	27	41	15	117	133	379	90	26	23	18	308	52	656	23	53	13	19	65	263	2012	4333	82	3
2020.07.20.	27	41	15	118	134	379	90	26	24	18	308	53	657	24	53	13	19	65	262	2013	4339	83	5
2020.07.21.	27	41	14	120	134	379	90	28	24	19	308	53	660	24	53	13	19	65	262	2014	4347	78	4
2020.07.22.	29	41	15	121	137	379	90	30	24	20	309	53	663	24	53	13	19	65	262	2019	4366	76	4
2020.07.23.	30	41	15	121	138	379	91	40	24	20	309	53	663	24	53	13	19	66	262	2019	4380	76	4
2020.07.24.	30	41	15	122	138	379	93	40	26	20	310	53	666	25	54	13	23	66	263	2021	4398	70	4
2020.07.25.	30	41	15	124	138	379	97	43	28	21	312	53	669	26	54	13	23	66	264	2028	4424	68	5
2020.07.26.	31	41	15	124	138	380	97	43	28	22	312	53	675	27	54	13	23	66	264	2029	4435	69	6
2020.07.27.	31	41	15	125	139	380	98	44	28	22	312	53	680	27	54	13	24	66	264	2032	4448	71	6
2020.07.28.	31	41	15	126	139	380	98	46	28	23	312	53	681	27	54	14	24	66	264	2034	4456	76	6
2020.07.29.	31	41	15	126	139	380	98	49	28	23	312	53	682	27	54	14	24	67	265	2037	4465	76	6
2020.07.30.	31	41	15	127	140	380	100	55	27	23	312	54	682	28	54	15	24	67	265	2044	4484	76	6
2020.07.31.	31	42	16	128	143	380	102	55	27	24	312	53	685	28	54	15	25	67	265	2053	4505	73	6
2020.08.01.	31	44	16	130	144	379	102	55	27	24	312	53	690	28	54	15	25	71	265	2061	4526	73	6
2020.08.02.	31	45	17	130	144	379	102	55	28	24	312	53	690	28	54	17	27	72	265	2062	4535	71	7

Government response

On 7 March, national ceremonies marking the anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution on 15 March were cancelled. Other cities and towns made similar decisions. A job fair planned to be held between 18 and 19 March at the University of Technology and Economics was also postponed.
The frequency of disinfection on Budapest public transport vehicles has increased, and the rule about using only the first door for boarding has been suspended, to decrease crowding. On 13 March, similar rules regarding getting on public transport were introduced in Miskolc as well.
The National Ambulance Service has provided more ambulances across the country to make easier the handling of increasing patients. 145 beds were freed for this cause in Saint Ladislaus Hospital, belonging to South Pest Central Hospital. Their capacity is now 81 rooms with 189 beds. If these fill up, other hospitals, capable of handling this type of situation, will also be used for quarantine locations elsewhere in the country. Since 8 March visiting someone in a hospital or in any social institution which provides long-term stay has been prohibited. Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden as well as every thermal bath will remain closed from 16 March. Starting with the same day, BuBi may be used for 100 HUF.
On 17 March, the Surgeon General announced that the National Safety Laboratory of National Health Security Center had successfully isolated COVID-19 from a Hungarian patient's sample, which it could use for researching vaccines from a Hungarian patient's sample, to be used for the researches and production of new vaccine in Hungary. A consortium founded by Immunology Department at Faculty of Sciences of Eötvös Loránd University, Biological Institute at Science Faculty of University of Pécs, Richter Gedeon and ImmunoGenes is involved in international biotechnological developments. Imre Kacskovics, leader of Immunology Department of ELTE said, product currently under preparation at the first phase it won't be a vaccine, it provides only passive immunity, but it won't be able to prepare the body to fight against virus. Some days after the successful isolation Bioinformatic Research Team of Szentágothay János Research Center at University of Pécs and the virologist experts of the university found the genome of new SARS-CoV-2 human coronavirus available in Hungary.
On 19 March, Andrea Bártfai-Mager Minister without portfolio, responsible for National Wealth and the team led by her prepared and accepted recommendations which were the basis of economic decisions published next day.

State of emergency

On 11 March, the Hungarian government declared a state of emergency. While these periods usually last for 15 days, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office Gergely Gulyás said the measures may be in force indefinitely, as "there is a consensus that the length of this period may be not only weeks, but months." Public gatherings in an enclosed space with more than 100 people were prohibited, sporting events that could attract more than 500 spectators must be held behind closed doors, and foreign exchange programs were suspended. Universities were ordered to suspend in-person classes and switch to online courses.
Elementary and high schools were initially excluded from closure, due to an initial assessment that COVID-19 did not have as serious of an impact to children. The Ministry of Human Capacities recommended that schools suspend field trips, open-air classes, and exchange programs. On 13 March during a radio interview, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said kindergarten was also excluded since parents would have to guarantee children's supervision, and teachers would be required to take unpaid leave. That evening, Orbán announced that elementary and high schools would be closed to in-person classes effective 16 March.
On 16 March, Prime Minister Orbán announced further restrictions, including ordering the cancellation of all events, and banning restaurants and cafes from operating beyond 3 p.m. Only grocery stores and pharmacies would be allowed to remain open past this time. In addition, it was announced that the country would allow entry to Hungarian citizens only. In spite of the notices issued by operational staff about responsible behaviour and moderation, a 30-year-old security guard shared fake news on YouTube regarding the pandemic. He was the subject of police action.

Rule by decree

On 30 March, the National Assembly passed an act 137–53 that made the state of emergency indefinite and allowed Prime Minister Orbán to rule by decree during it. During the state of emergency, by-elections and national and local referendums must be postponed until after the conclusion of the state of emergency, and deliberate bodies of a local governments and national minority self-governments cannot be dissolved. The act also makes the deliberate distribution of misleading information that obstructs responses to the pandemic punishable by up to five years in prison, and breaking quarantine punishable by up to three.
The bill faced opposition for containing indefinite restrictions on these powers, as well as concerns over the possibility that the "fake news" prohibition in the bill could be abused for censorship of dissenting opinions towards the government's response. On 31 March, liberal members of European parliament voiced concerns that the bill was incompatible with belonging to the European Union. Without mentioning Hungary, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen advised that measures for controlling the pandemic should be "limited to what is necessary and strictly proportionate", and "not at the expense of our fundamental principles and values as set out in the treaties".
On 1 April, a joint statement was issued by 13 EU member states, stating that they were "deeply concerned" about emergency initiatives violating democracy, fundamental rights, and the rule of law. The statement did not explicitly refer to Hungary; the country joined the statement the following day. On 30 April 2020, Viktor Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyás announced that Hungarian schools will remain closed to the end of May, and events that feature more than 500 participants are banned until 15 August.

Travel and entry restrictions

Entry restrictions were initially targeted towards countries with large numbers of cases; the country initially began to suspend admission of migrants from its transit zones on the Serbian border, citing the outbreak in Iran. On 6 March, Hungary suspended the issuance of visas to Iranian citizens. On 9 March, restrictions began to emerge on air traffic from Northern Italy due to the outbreak in the country. On 11 March, pursuant to the state of emergency, Hungary barred entry into the country by foreign nationals via China, Iran, Italy and South Korea. Hungarian citizens would still be allowed to return, but would be required to undergo 14 days of self-isolation upon return. Border checks were also re-implemented at the Austrian and Slovenian borders, and the government suspended travel by its employees without prior approval. On 13 March, Israel was added after two Hungarian cases were tied to travel to the country.
On 16 March, Hungary restricted entry into the country to citizens only.
From 27 April, wearing a mask will be mandatory on public transport in Budapest.

Economic decisions for managing the emergency

Minister of Finance said the government had to react to the real needs of the economy, and they were still waiting for the feedback from the trade and industry chamber. On 18 March during the early afternooon hours Viktor Orbán announced several upcoming decisions. Though he used his own Facebook page instead of the dedicated communication channels.
The decisions were as follow:

All due payments are suspended which are caused by loans to persons and companies. It is valid for capital and interest payment as well. This is in force up to the end of the year.
Short-term loans for companies are prolonged up to 30 June.
Loans delivered from 19 March may have a maximum 5% above the Hungarian National Bank’s interest rate.
Government remits subsidiaries which should have to paid based on the number of employees on the fields of tourism, catering, leisure, sport, culture and personal taxi services. Employees working in these sectors do not have to pay a pension subsidiary and the fee for receiving the benefits of the health sector is the minimum fee declared in the act.
Taxi drivers subject to the KATA tax system are exempt from tax until 30 June.
Rental contracts which are in connection with the above listed sectors may not be abrogated, rental fees may not be increased.
Contribution to the development of tourism is suspended until 30 June.
Labor rules will be more flexible, to make agreements between employers and employees easier.

The Order about these changes was published in the 18 March edition of Magyar Közlöny. Mihály Varga Minister of Finance and representatives of Hungarian Banking Association had a meeting regarding actions listed above.

Impact on sport

Nearly all sport events were affected by the state of emergency introduced on 11 March. It banned all indoor events with at least 100 and every outdoor events with at least 500 participants. As a consequence the next 25th round of 2019–20 Nemzeti Bajnokság I had to be made without spectators. Only six out of 55 member states of UEFA had open matches, which were free to visit. On 16 March, there was a decision made about suspension of the championship, suspending all matches.
On 11 March, they ended Erste Liga 2019–2020 Hungarian ice hockey championship, which was at the semi-final stage, and the same decision was made about all other ice hockey championships in the country. All matches part of championships and cup series organised by the Hungarian Handball Association were suspended. The same decision was made by the Hungarian Water Polo Federation. Basketball and volleyball championships were also suspended. The National Swimming Championship has also been prolonged. The Hungarian Boxing Association announced the evacuation of participants from London, where qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics were ongoing. Hungarian Karate Federation announced that they temporally cancel karate contents part of the content calendar. On 13 March, the three étaps of Giro d’Italia in the country had been cancelled. On 17 March, the most well-known Hungarian bicycle tour, Tour de Hongrie has been moved from May to October.
Due to the state of emergency in Bulgaria, they banned all sport events in the country up to 29 March. As a result, the qualifying match between Bulgaria and Hungary has been postponed. On 17 March, UEFA postponed the whole championship a year to 2021, which is scheduled to be held among other countries apart from Hungary.
European Karate Federation informed Hungarian Karate Federation about the cancelling European Championship that year, planned to take place in Baku from 25 to 29 March. This championship is part of the qualification events to the Olympics.

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