Economy 7 May 2021, 9:25am

COVID-19 in Hungary: 1,541 new cases, 106 dead

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Hungarian authorities confirmed 1,541 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases yesterday, increasing the total since last March to 789,188. The death toll is now 28,403 after the disease claimed the lives of 106 patients, the official government website said. The number of people vaccinated is 4,203,873, of whom 2,406,684 have already received both doses.

There were 1,541 new cases in 24 hours, indicating that the pandemic is receding further in Hungary. However, it is now clear that the steep decline in the pandemic curve seen last week has ended and been replaced by a slower decrease. This may mean that the increased number of contacts in recent weeks is already influencing the curve, although not enough to flip it back to an increase. Based on waste water analysis, virus concentration in cities is no longer decreasing.

Meanwhile, the other shot-term indicator of the pandemic situation the positivity rate of tests, keep decreasing nicely and was just 8% yesterday. As the graph below shows, the declining trend is unbroken.

The number of coronavirus patients in hospital is currently 3,855, and 445 of them are on ventilator. Both numbers are declining, and the number of new cases indicates that the trend will hold in coming days as well.

There were 106 coronavirus-related fatalities in 24 hours, which means the total is now 28,403. The number of fatalities has been dropping.

As for vaccination, the number of first doses applied has slowed in recent days as vaccine uptake nears the number of registrations. So far, more than 4.8 million people have registered to be vaccinated, and 80% of them have already received at least one shot. The online appointment system currently offers dates for Sinopharm, AstraZeneca and Sputnik vaccines, the official government website said. Teachers, who received the first jabs in April, will get the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine today and tomorrow at hospital vaccination points.

Overall, the latest pandemic data suggest that the spread of the virus is slowing, but the big question of coming weeks will be how the number of new cases develops. The coronavirus is still spreading in Hungary, and its rate could be increased by increased contact numbers but decreased by higher vaccination coverage and warmer weather.

Here's a few more charts about the correlation between testing, active cases, people in hospital and the number of recovered patients.