The epidemic’s mortality rate was half the Hungarian average in Budapest, says Mayor Karácsony

The arrival of a Covid-19 vaccine could mark a new phase in the protection efforts, if public trust in the authorities is high enough for people to get vaccinated, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Monday.

“A government will win people’s trust only with honest communication. The Hungarian government does everything to gloss over data connected to the epidemic,” he said on Facebook.

The epidemic’s mortality rate was half the Hungarian average in Budapest, a fact “the Hungarian government tries in vain to hide” as it is clearly visible in European statistics, he said.

Little is known about regional mortality rates even though this information would be essential to fight the epidemic, he added.

Karacsony said the official government website showed only Budapest figures separately, insisting that this way, the city’s high early mortality rates “could be laid at the city leadership’s door”. Currently, Covid-related mortality is much lower than average in the capital, data “the government makes sure to keep quiet about”, he added.