Covid19 – Hungary closes businesses as cases rise
Authorities in Hungary are tightening pandemic restrictions in an effort to mitigate a rapid rise in deaths and hospitalizations caused by COVID-19.Businesses will be required to close their doors for two weeks beginning Monday, with only grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations permitted to remain open.
Kindergartens and primary schools will also be closed until April 7. Sporting events may only be held without spectators, and businesses are urged to allow employees to work from home. The decision comes as another surge of the virus races across Hungary, with new daily cases and hospitalizations rapidly approaching their previous peaks set in December.
Hungary hopes a rapid vaccination program will drive numbers down. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, says the country will have the highest vaccination rate in the European Union by next week.
Hungary implemented a total store closure in April and partial lockdown from November 2020. Currently, retail schemes operate under reduced hours, whilst cinemas, theatres and fitness centres all fully closed
