What is expected to change in Hungarian COVID measures?

Lockdown is starting to affect people so severely that the openings are hurried while safety measures increase. The vaccination is going well, but while the general public is moving towards a more liveable situation, specific vulnerable groups are still highly affected, so some change in the rules is expected in the near future.

In recent days, the government decided on several waves of the post-pandemic opening. The time of the curfew has been less strict, shops and service providers have been able to reopen, and soon, public education will return to the old way (which educators are not particularly happy about, considering the current data on the pandemic).

However, there is a group of outdoor services that have been left out: including, for example, zoos and wildlife parks.

That is why, in an online petition launched by Szabad a Hang, civilians are asking Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to allow zoos and wildlife parks to open as well. From the 15,000 required signatures of the petition, at the writing of our article, 13,519 were collected.

The catering businesses are hoping that they will be next when it comes to the reopening. If the number of people vaccinated reaches 4 million, they can open hotels and restaurants, which, according to the Prime Minister, will be open to those with an immunity certificate.

Voices are also getting louder about vaccinating chronically ill children over the age of 16, the president of the Association of Home Pediatricians told InfoRádió. According to the government, if the health authorities decide, people between the ages of 16 and 18 can also receive the vaccine by the end of May.

“Chronically ill children are at increased risk in the same way as chronically ill adults,”

Katalin Havasi told InfoRádió.

According to the president of the Association of Home Pediatricians, children struggling with diseases affecting

• the heart,
• the respiratory system,
• the liver, or
• with diabetes

should be given priority in the vaccination order. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has so far only allowed Pfizer to be given to underage people, so it would be important for at least 16 to 18-year-olds to receive the vaccine.