Hungary Introduces Corona Restrictions Amid Standoff With EU

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News reporting from Budapest, Hungary

(Worthy News) – Hungary’s controversial prime minister has introduced a nationwide curfew and other strict measures to halt the coronavirus pandemic citing a massive increase in deaths and hospitalizations across Europe.

Viktor Orbán also warned the European Union that EU-member Hungary would veto a multi-billion euro coronavirus recovery fund and the EU budget if payments are linked to rule of law demands. Hungary and Poland have been targeted by the EU for perceived violations amid concerns about government influence over the media, judiciary, and other previously independent institutions.

In his letter to several EU leaders, Orbán referred to the 750-billion euro fund to help weaker nations overcome the coronavirus pandemic and the EU’s even larger financial framework of over 1-trillion euro for 2021 to 2027.

The massive aid was agreed to this summer by EU heads of states, but the European Parliament later attached rule of law conditions to payments that Orbán regards as domestic interference.

Hungary’s latest standoff with Brussels emerging over the weekend was not addressed by Orbán in his message to the nation announcing a coronavirus curfew between 8 p.m and 5 a.m. Only those commuting to work are exempt from the nightly lockdown.

LIMITING BUSINESSES

Businesses, he said, must close after 7 p.m.

Restaurants will be limited to home delivery, sporting events will be held in empty stadiums, and family gatherings are limited to 10 people.

Authorities will also introduce a general ban on events. Universities and high schools will transition to online education. Still, preschools, kindergartens, and classes for children 14 and under will remain open.

Healthcare workers, teachers, and childcare workers will be tested weekly for the virus. The newest restrictions began Tuesday midnight and remain in place for 30 days, after which they may be extended.

Hungary’s Parliament, dominated by Orbán allies, passed Tuesday a state of emergency for 90 days. Prime minister Orbán, who faces elections in 2022, resisted doctors and opposition politicians’ calls for more shutdowns to protect the economy.

But he said the rapidly rising number of COVID-19 left him no other choice. “The epidemic is still on the rise in Europe. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 109,000 people in Hungary and eight million people in Europe have come infected.”

AUSTRIA SITUATION

He warned that “If the number of infections increases at the current rate, our doctors and nurses and hospitals will not be able to cope with the pressure.”

The measures come after a week of record-breaking hospitalizations and deaths. Authorities said that on Saturday, 107 people died of COVID-19, the highest daily total since the start of the pandemic.

Hungary’s total death toll was approaching 2,500 on a population of some 10 million people. Most of those who passed away were older people with underlying health conditions.

More than 6,000 coronavirus patients were being treated in hospitals on Tuesday — also a record. Most of those who passed away were older people with underlying health conditions.

Hungary is the latest among European nations struggling to cope with a new wave of coronavirus infections, causing misery and deaths worldwide. Elsewhere in Europe, Portugal entered a new state of emergency to fight rising infections, imposing curfews, while Britain tightened travel restrictions from Denmark, where outbreaks have been connected to mink farms.

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