The fight against the coronavirus epidemic has been successful so far, but the danger of the epidemic has not gone away yet, and we must therefore maintain a state of disease control preparedness, the Government Spokesperson said on Saturday at a ‘Governmentinfo Plus’ press conference posted on her social media account.
Alexandra Szentkirályi said the government and the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic adopted the right measures at the right time, and thanks to this, Hungary is one of the few countries which managed to avoid a phase of mass incidences and fatalities in the thousands.
According to her information, the new national consultation – whose questionnaires will be posted to everyone as usual – will be about the coronavirus and the restarting of the economy, including questions about which measures should remain in effect, what new measures should be adopted and how the crisis should be managed, she said.
She added that the consultation questionnaire will also feature a question about the “perpetual bonds” proposed by George Soros which would drive European countries into permanent debt.
Regarding the shopping hours reserved for the elderly, she said those over the age of 65 as the age group most at risk continue to require special treatment. It is to be hoped, however, that it will soon be possible to lift the shopping hours restrictions as well.
She observed that local governments are free to change these shopping hours at markets they operate, maintaining a three-hour slot.
Ms. Szentkirályi stressed that the government is working to ensure that no one should have to lose their jobs. Those who nonetheless do so are entitled to a job-seekers’ allowance for three months. However, the goal of the government is for everyone to have access to jobs. All relevant information related to employment can be found at the website munka.hu, from the job projection and job creation wage support schemes through investment grants to training courses on offer, she said.
She also highlighted that in the case of the job protection wage support scheme the government had extended the deadline for the submission of applications to 31 August. With this programme alone, they have now succeeded in retaining more than 134,000 jobs, the Government Spokesperson pointed out.
She added that investment grants and the reduction of taxes and administrative burdens are further important elements of the economy protection action plan. Additionally, the state as an employer will also offer further job opportunities: the contingent of public works schemes has been raised by one hundred thousand, training programmes have been launched, and state-owned companies as well as the Hungarian Defence Forces are awaiting job-seekers.
The credit debt repayment moratorium – which will leave excess funds worth HUF 2,000 billion with families in 2020 – will remain in effect until 31 December; however, anyone can request the resumption of repayment at any time in the interim. She added that 40 per cent of the population had decided to continue the repayment of their debts, meaning that more than one half of credit debtors had availed themselves of the moratorium.
She also said for the purposes of the term of social security relationship necessary for the baby expecting support and the family housing benefit (csok), the period of the state of danger can be included maximum up to six months even if during this period the applicant did not have a job.
Regarding the setting up of a school guard, she pointed out that there must be order in schools and teachers must be protected from acts of violence. Today in most institutions there is no such problem, but in some schools and regions there are frequent disciplinary problems and teachers are at risk from the threat of violence – whether verbal or physical.
She also highlighted that it is now possible to hold outdoor cultural and sports events throughout the country, including outdoor theatrical performances, outdoor cinemas, circus shows, fine arts exhibitions organised outside museums, literary events, book presentations and events organised by public collections.
She pointed out that those events qualify as outdoor which take place outside covered buildings surrounded by four walls.
The Government Spokesperson said the government will allocate HUF 25 billion to farmers from the economy protection fund, while the Ministry of Agriculture will announce another agricultural package worth HUF 80 billion for the high added-value animal husbandry and gardening sectors.
Ms. Szentkirályi confirmed that Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic had opened their borders to one another’s nationals in the event of a stay of not more than 48 hours. She drew attention to the fact that Hungarians travelling to the Czech Republic can travel through Slovakia; however, not on the way back, they are therefore required to return via Austria. She added that since Thursday on the Hungarian-Slovenian border there had been no restrictions on border crossing for nationals of the two countries.
She highlighted that the government is first planning to open the borders to countries where the level of infection is similar to that of Hungary. Therefore, we have yet to wait before opening our borders in relation to Italy.
She suggested that Hungarians should choose to travel within the country, not only because it is safe, but also because by doing so they can support the preservation of Hungarian jobs.
She said according to a bill presented to Parliament, with a view to protecting the elderly, for a period of 90 days following the cessation of the state of danger, medicines can be served to anyone subject to providing the beneficiary patient’s social security number and verifying the identity of the person redeeming the prescription.
She further informed members of the public that free parking will remain in effect until 1 July as expected, while those who received their driving licences with exemption from a first aid test will not be required to take such a test after the state of danger. She added that official documents that had expired during the state of danger or expiring within 15 days of the end of the state of danger, including the technical validity of environmental and road safety standards certificates, would remain valid for 180 days after the cessation of the state of danger.