Economy 28 April 2021, 9:26am

COVID-19 in Hungary: less than 2,000 new cases on Tuesday

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Hungarian authorities confirmed 1,692 new coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in the past 24 hours, increasing the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 774,399. The number of coronavirus-related deaths was 188, which means the death toll is now 27,172. The number of coronavirus patients in hospital dropped to 5,907, and there are currently 702 people on ventilators, the official government website said.

Although the number of new cases was higher than the previous day, it is still 33% lower than a week before. In encouraging news, the seven-day rolling average has been decreasing for the last 13 days.

While the number of new cases was spectacularly lower than a week earlier, there is no similar decrease in fatalities as of yet. The 188 fatalities represent a 9% week-on-week decrease, although the seven-day rolling average has been dropping slowly for 15 days now.

Meanwhile, the load on the health care system is decreasing as the number of coronavirus patients in hospital dropped by 453 in a day and that of people on ventilators by 51, the biggest daily decrease in the past week. There is now a favourable trend in hospital loads, although it remains to be seen if it persists after the gradual re-opening of recent weeks, especially after last week’s restaurant terrace fiesta.

The ratio of positive tests continued to drop further, indicating an improving pandemic situation. The positivity rate was 9% yesterday, decreasing the seven-day average to 11.5%.

As of Tuesday, 3.744 million people in Hungary received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, after 94,000 people were vaccinated in the past 24 hours.

Vaccination coverage is now 38%, compared to the EU’s average of 22%. More than 4.5 million people have registered to be vaccinated, and 74% of them have already got at least one shot, the official government website said.