The opposition Socialists have asked Hungary’s chief medical officer to issue an immediate order for social sector workers, retirement home residents and Hungarian employees in general to be tested en masse for coronavirus free of charge.
The number of active infections in Hungary is soaring, Lajos Korózs, the head of parliament’s welfare committee, told an online press conference on Saturday, noting that more than 700 new cases were registered on Friday while the highest number of daily cases in the spring was 210.
Health authorities are capable of carrying out up to 10,000 tests a day, so “the only responsible decision” is to introduce mass free testing immediately, Korózs said.
He noted that employees who test positive for the virus are allowed to return to work after presenting two negative tests. He added:
Hungarian people can’t afford to spend tens, or in the cases of families, hundreds of thousands of forints on getting tested, nor will they tolerate two weeks in quarantine.
Korózs said that hopefully the chief medical officer would not “shut the door on health institutions to keep the virus inside, as she did in the spring”.
featured photo: Tibor Illyés/MTI