Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Office announced on Sunday. According to pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet, the Minister was found to be ill after returning from an official visit to Germany.
The report from the Prime Minister’s Office states that Gulyás will now be fulfilling his ministerial duties to the best of his ability from home quarantine. In its report, the Office also reiterates the government’s stance that vaccination matters more than anything else.
Thanks to vaccination providing the greatest level of protection available, the coronavirus infection of the Head of the Prime Minister’s Office was shown to have no serious symptoms.”
In response to a question during his October 21 government press conference, Gergely Gulyás stated that after being vaccinated with two doses of Sputnik V, he received a third dose of Janssen. The choice is strange when considering that the government’s Covid information website, koronavirus.gov.hu, does not list Janssen as a suggested third dose for people vaccinated with the Russian vaccine.
The Hungarian government’s emphasis on vaccines and disregard for social distancing and the use of masks has been made very clear over the past months, despite the nation’s health experts and academic institutions stressing the importance of all three.
As of Monday, reintroduced national restrictions include the mandatory use of masks on public transit, employers being allowed to require mandatory vaccination, and visiting bans in hospitals. Despite the number of active cases increasing to more than 43 thousand on Monday, officials seem reluctant to introduce the much stricter measures of the third wave.
Featured photo illustration by Noémi Bruzák/MTI