Hungarian PM Viktor Orban provided detailed information on the coronavirus situation and the latest economic measures in an interview with Hungary's public radio (MR1).

In the interview, Hungary’s prime minister highlighted that weekend vaccination days will be continued and people can also receive the jab without booking an appointment at hospital vaccination centres and local outpatient clinics on three days a week. GPs will also administer vaccine on specific weekends in addition to the usual working hours.

The state is ready to vaccinate everyone, PM Orban said, pointing out that the healthcare system and public administration are prepared and enough vaccine doses are available. He reiterated the importance of vaccination and the need to receive a third booster dose after the second jab and asked parents to consider getting their children inoculated. Anyone who needs it can receive a fourth vaccine dose, he added.

Speaking about the latest figures, Mr Orban said currently 243 coronavirus patients are being placed on invasive ventilators and a total of 2611 Covid patients are treated in hospitals. The latter figure has already been higher than ten thousand at one stage, he noted, adding that hospitals have bed capacities exceeding that number.

Inflation all over Europe

Inflation in Europe is deviating economies from their normal paths, something this cannot be halted at national borders, PM Orban said. There must be two lines of defence against it. The one is raising wages and pensions, and the other is to stop price hikes wherever possible. He recalled that the Hungarian government introduced a utility bill reduction scheme, put a cap on petrol prices and froze mortgage interest rates. Speaking about the latest government measures, he said: the cabinet has imposed price curbs on basic foods, freezing their prices at last year’s 15 October level. Mr Orban also recalled that they had decreased the VAT of basic foods to 5 per cent, a move not supported by Hungary’s leftist political parties.

The Hungarian government should represent not only market but also national and social aspects, Viktor Orban said, adding that „the safety of families comes first.” He stated that he was prepared to defend the related measures in Brussels. There will be attacks from Brussels on the family protection measures, but these can be fended off by the Hungarian government, he stressed.

Hungary is a free country where adults can choose their own way of life, but at the same time the parents’ right – on how they want to educate of their kids on the sensitive issue of sexuality – must be recognised. He also remarked that Germany was a “civilised country,” yet a network of hundreds of paedophiles had recently been uncovered. Such issues are handled well by Hungarian law, Hungary’s prime minister said.