Economy 23 March 2021, 9:10am

COVID-19 in Hungary: fatalities hit new high

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In the past 24 hours, 5,481 people in Hungary were diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and the disease claimed the lives of 252 people, the official government website said. Pressure on hospital remains huge, and Hungary’s health care system may be close to exhausting its capacities.

Hungary is still in a steeply rising phase of the third wave, the British variant is spreading very fast, and the number of active cases and hospital patients is growing, the website said. The 5,481 new cases represent the lowest daily figure since last Wednesday, although Tuesday morning numbers are typically lower due to fewer tests over the weekend. The seven-day moving average has also increased further.

The 252 fatalities in 24 hours set a sad new record and indicate that the situation is indeed dire. The seven-day average is also rising and is now at 211 deaths a day over the past week.

Health workers and experts have been warning of the huge pressure on hospitals for several days, and the Hungarian Medical Chamber also released a dramatic warning late on Monday. There has been no improvement in this regard, as the number of people in hospital rose by 597 in a day to 11,873, 1,389 of whom are receiving artificial ventilation.

As mentioned above, the weekend effect may explain today’s relatively low case number. The number of tests applied was under 20,000, with a positivity rate of 28.4%.

Hungary has vaccinated 1,636,436 people against the coronavirus, and 481,820 people have already received both doses. This translates to nearly 47,000 first shots and 2,400 second shots yesterday.