COVID-19 in Hungary: more than 5,000 new cases on Sunday

The 5,162 new cases came close to the daily record high, but this is not surprising at this stage of the pandemic and further increase should be expected, as indicated by the seven-day moving average.

There has been a decrease in daily fatalities as the 55 dead yesterday were about half of the highest daily figure, but the dynamics of the outbreak suggest that this, too, will continue to rise. The coronavirus is now among the leading causes of death in Hungary.

The number of people treated in hospital also rose sharply, by more than 200 in a single day, and this figure will also continue to rise in coming weeks. Although the number of people receiving artificial ventilation has not increased, we should expect more and more severe cases as the infection spreads.

Nearly one in three coronavirus tests in Hungary are now coming back positive, indicating that the virus is spreading fast. This means that actual infections are certainly higher than official case numbers, and also that detection efficiency has decreased again somewhat, although this is not surprising as authorities have a harder time tracking the spread of the virus given the finite capacities.

As practically all important indices showing the spread of the virus are on an increasing trend, the curve is not expected to plateau soon. It is important to be cautious in everyday life.

The number of tests applied yesterday was more than 16,000, lower than the 20,000 seen in recent days but roughly in line with the average of the past week.

Case numbers rose fastest in Budapest last week, by 995 on average a day and by 7,260 in a week. Infections were also numerous in Pest county (592 and 4,683) and in Győr-Moson-Sopron county (501 and 2,801). Meanwhile, the daily figure was under 100 in Vas, Jász-NAgykun-Szolnok and Szabolcs counties.

Compared to population, the virus situation was worst in Győr-Moson-Sopron county last week, with 600 new cases per 100,000 people, followed by Budapest with 414, Veszprém county with 371 and Pest county with 366 new cases. The number of new cases per 100,000 was above 200 in all Hungarian counties.

The number of cases is growing exponentially across Europe including Hungary and neighbouring countries, the government website warns, adding that the pandemic cannot be stopped and the goal is to slow down the spread of the virus.

Cover photo: Getty Images