PM Orbán’s exclusive evening interview: if rules are not kept the state will flex its muscles

The government is working to ensure that Hungary is able to function, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told public broadcaster M1 on Saturday evening, asking the public to observe coronavirus-related measures.

Referring to the government’s “National Consultation” survey, Orban said that respondents indicated a common wish that the government, the prime minister, the health-care system and economic policymakers should ensure that Hungary stays a viable country and that they should prevent the epidemic from paralysing the country.

Orban said he was not as worried as during the first wave of the epidemic, because “we now know exactly what we are facing” and the country has all the equipment needed to defend against the virus.

“I am not alone in this fight, but together with 1.8 million people,”

Orban said, and thanked those who had returned the government’s questionnaires and “helped set directions for preventive efforts”.

The prime minister said that the number of new infections had been record high for the previous two days, adding that that number was expected to further increase. He noted, however, that during the second wave it was the number of deaths rather than new infections that should be in the focus.

“The success of prevention could now be measured by the number of lives saved as opposed to deaths,”

he said. He said that the second wave called for a different strategy, but added that the country has gained experiences from the first wave and hospitals, as well as health equipment producers were prepared for the next wave.

Based on the survey, the government knows “what people expect us to do and that gives us calm,” Orban said. The government has a strategy to save lives and keep the country going at the same time, he said, adding that “flexibility, an ability to take action and rapid reactions” were crucial.

The government wants to avoid curfews or re-introducing digital education,

Orban said, insisting that “everything should go on in its own order, whether it is jobs, schools, and even sports, culture, and art”. Tourism and catering should be continued, too, he said, but added that “not as if nothing had happened, but their operations must be maintained”.

“Where one must wear a mask, everybody should wear them and keep a distance, and if they feel ill, they should avoid others.”

Under Saturday’s decisions if a customer is found without a mask in a shop, both the customer and the shop will be fined, Orban said, adding that on the third such instance the shop could be closed.

“The state is not flexing its muscles … but if the rules are not observed they will be enforced,” he said.

Through their answers in the survey parents indicated a clear wish that schools should open in September in the traditional way, Orban said.

“If there is trouble”, classes will be reorganised and if isolation is needed, classes, rather than the whole school, will be sent home, he added, noting that schools had been closed down in spring to ease the pressure on the health-care system.

“As long as fatalities are not rising, and it seems we are able to save the elderly, school closures will not be on the agenda,”

the prime minister said.

UPDATE

Orban said the government was

prepared to introduce certain restrictive measures,

adding, however, that these would not be about “restricting everyday life” but rather rules such as potentially mandating bars and clubs to close at 11pm and enforcing mask-wearing in shops and on public transport.

He noted that the chief medical officer has issued a visiting ban for hospitals and retirement homes across the country and parents are not allowed to enter schools. From Oct. 1, all students will have their temperatures checked upon entering the school, he said.