"Authorities are doing their job. They are able to detect new cases and carry out tests when needed," WHO s Hungarian office chief Ledia Lazeri said, assessing the Hungarian situation. She said there was no point in screening Hungary s entire population for the coronavirus, adding that tests should only be done in suspicious cases.

Speaking to Hungary s public radio Ledia Lazeri, head of the WHO Country Office in Hungary, said it was unnecessary to screen Hungary s entire population for the new coronavirus, adding that tests should only be taken in suspicious cases or when there are exhibiting symptoms.

She pointed out that WHO is in daily contact with the Ministry of Human Capacities and the National Centre for Public Health to share their information. According to Ms Lazeri, statistics show that the authorities are capable of handling the situation, they detect new cases and conduct tests where necessary. „Instead of panicking, we need to draw reassurance from it,” she said.

She added that the WHO is constantly working on expert reports to help member states make informed decisions. She called it a milestone that China had not reported any new patients in the past 24 hours, which means that the method of controlling the epidemic is now available.

Ms Lazeri said the number of infections is expected to grow at an as-yet-unknown rate, adding, however, that „Hungary has had time to learn and draw conclusions from the case of Italy.” She expressed her belief that measures seen across Europe will be sufficient to curb the epidemic by keeping the number of cases below a manageable threshold.