COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
The COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On 4 March 2020, the first cases in Hungary were announced.[2] The first coronavirus-related death was announced on 15 March on the government's official website.[3]
On March 18, 2020, Surgeon general Cecília Müller announced that the virus had spread to every part of the country.[4] As of June 2021, Hungary has the second-highest COVID-19 death rate in the world.[5]
As of 19 March 2023, a total of 16,568,528 vaccine doses have been administered.[6]
The Hungarian Operational Task Force was formed on January 31, 2020, led by Sándor Pintér, Interior Minister and Miklós Kásler, Minister of Human Resources, and included:[7]
Staff has immediately announced its plan for security against the spread of virus.[9] After detecting the virus in the country, they announced that operational staff would hold daily meetings at noon.[10]
On February 1, the spokesperson of National Command of Penalty Execution (BVOP) announced that prisoners of Debrecen and Sátoraljaújhely[11] 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,[12] and continually delivered to general practitioners.[13]
At the beginning of the pandemic, the virus was concentrated in and around Wuhan. Seven Hungarians living in Wuhan, who wanted to move back to Europe, were transported through France and placed in quarantine for two weeks.[14] They remained healthy during those two weeks and were released on 16 February.[15]
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.[16] 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."[17] The accumulation of goods declined quite quickly, and the detection of the virus in March did not cause measurable problems in shops.[18]
The Government of Hungary launched its official webpage and official Facebook page about the novel coronavirus, both on 4 March 2020.[19][20]
Impact on sport[edit]
Nearly all sport events were affected by the state of emergency introduced on 11 March 2020. 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 played without spectators.[114] Only six out of 55 member states of UEFA had open matches, which were free to visit.[115] On 16 March 2020, there was a decision made about suspension of the championship, suspending all matches.[116]
On 11 March 2020, they ended Erste Liga 2019–2020 Hungarian ice hockey championship, which was at the semi-final stage,[117] and the same decision was made about all other ice hockey championships in the country.[118] All matches part of championships and cup series organised by the Hungarian Handball Association were suspended.[119] The same decision was made by the Hungarian Water Polo Federation.[120] Basketball and volleyball championships were also suspended.[121][122] The National Swimming Championship has also been prolonged.[123] The Hungarian Boxing Association announced the evacuation of participants from London, where qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics were ongoing.[124] Hungarian Karate Federation announced that they temporally cancel karate contents part of the content calendar.[125] On 13 March, the three étaps of Giro d'Italia in the country had been cancelled.[126] On 17 March 2020, the most well-known Hungarian bicycle tour, Tour de Hongrie has been moved from May to October 2020.[127]
Due to the state of emergency in Bulgaria, they banned all sport events in the country up to 29 March 2020. As a result, the qualifying match between Bulgaria and Hungary has been postponed.[128] On 17 March 2020, UEFA postponed the whole championship a year to 2021, which is scheduled to be held among other countries apart from Hungary.[129]
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 2020. This championship is part of the qualification events to the Olympics.[130][131]