From Saturday, the government will extend the restrictions on movement for another week, and will review the situation at next Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, Gergely Gulyás stated at his online press conference held on Thursday. The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office also announced several relief measures in taxation and the recreational benefit ‘SZÉP’ cards, and said from 4 May only written final examinations will be organised.
In the context of the restrictions on movement, in the future, the general practice will be that at every Wednesday cabinet meeting, the government will review whether there is a need for the introduction of more stringent restrictions, or a possibility for relaxing the restrictions, and will inform the public on Thursdays, the Minister said.
He also said local governments will be repeatedly given the option for this Saturday and Sunday to regulate the use of their own public areas within their own competence. He thanked local governments for the positive experiences during the Easter holidays, indicating that with their decisions they managed to prevent large masses from appearing in certain locations.
Mr Gulyás highlighted that so far, the government has spent HUF 500 billion on procurements and the containment of the coronavirus epidemic. They can only render an account of the protective supplies procured once they have arrived in Hungary. On the markets where these products are available, the law of the jungle prevails, and so one can only be certain of supplies which have actually been received, he added.
He said staff members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade inform the public with daily regularity, and one must realise that not even the conclusion of a contract or the payment of an advance guarantees the actual delivery of supplies. At the same time, they are doing everything they can to make the necessary supplies available.
The Minister stressed that the goal was to render the health care system suitable even for the scenario of mass incidences; it was to this end that they determined the number of beds necessary for providing care for patients.
At the press conference, the Minister announced the government decision, based on which, due to the coronavirus epidemic, only written final examinations will be organised from 4 May.
He said this time only those will have the opportunity to take their final examinations who need to do so due to the planned continuation of their studies in higher education; this concerns some 83,000 students. During this examination period, there will be no scope for early examinations.
The examinations will be held – as expected – over a period of two weeks.
Written examinations will have to be organised in such a way as to ensure that there can be no more than ten students in each room, and a distance of one and a half metres will have to be maintained between them, Mr Gulyás said.
He added that oral examinations are only possible in the case of subjects where written examinations cannot be held. This arrangement will involve 3,178 students.
He indicated that taking the final examinations was not compulsory for anyone. If someone decides not to take the examinations now, they will be able to do so in the autumn. In this case, they will be able to join next year’s university admission procedure, he said.
He observed that if they did not hold final examinations, this would result in a state of chaos in the admission procedures of higher education institutions which is not acceptable.
In the case of accredited training courses, the Ministry for Innovation and Technology will guarantee the organisation of occupational examinations; primarily written tests will be organised, he said.
Mr Gulyás also informed members of the public of a number of economic decisions.
These include that the deadlines for the drafting and publication of annual reports and the submission of tax returns has been extended to 30 September.
Pursuant to another decision of the government, from 1 January 2021, merchants using online cash registers will be required to make available the option of electronic payment in the interest of reducing cash transactions. At the same time, cash payments are not restricted anywhere.
Mr Gulyás also said no social contribution tax will be payable on fringe benefits transferred to SZÉP cards up to 30 June 2020.
The amount of recreational benefits that may be given to workers annually will increase in 2020; in the public sector from HUF 200,000 to HUF 400,000, while in the private sector from HUF 450,000 to HUF 800,000, he stated at the press conference.
He added that the limits of the sub-accounts of SZÉP cards will also be raised; the limit for hotel services will increase from HUF 225,000 to HUF 400,000, the limit for catering services will increase from HUF 150,000 to HUF 265,000, while the limit for leisure time services will increase from HUF 75,000 to HUF 135,000.
He said it is extremely important that, after the passage of the crisis, people in the largest possible numbers should participate in boosting domestic tourism, and the government hopes that with these measures domestic tourism will be able to compensate – as much as possible – for the loss of revenues caused by the absence of foreign tourists.
He also recalled that until 31 December 2020, hotel providers will not be required to collect tourism tax; he indicated that, regardless of this, the state will provide the usual supplements.
Among VAT-related relief measures, the Minister mentioned that the tax payable in relation to the sale and letting of new homes to be built in so-called brownfield belt areas will be 5 per cent instead of 27 per cent.
For the purposes of tax administration, the ‘reliable’ status of a taxpayer cannot be removed if the taxpayer violated any of its tax payment obligations during the state of danger, the Minister said.
He added that, in the interest of ongoing health care services, the government had also decided that from May employers would be required to pay a health care service contribution in relation to workers on unpaid leave.
The cabinet confirmed its intention to reduce the rate of the social contribution tax from 17.5 per cent to 15.5 per cent from 1 July; as a result, some HUF 160 billion will be left with businesses.
In answer to a question, Mr Gulyás said the revenues to be channelled into the economy protection fund will be comprised of the following items: the government will save HUF 119 billion in the case of the Prime Minister’s Office, including the Paks 2 project, HUF 20 billion in the case of the Ministry of Agriculture, HUF 28 billion in the case of the Ministry of Interior, HUF 21 billion in the case of the Ministry of Finance, HUF 334 billion in the case of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, HUF 22 billion in the case of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, HUF 81 billion in the case of the Ministry of Human Capacities, HUF 46 billion in the case of the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister, and HUF 854 million in the case of the government office.
These measures will render the operation of ministries more difficult, but will not pose a threat to the payment of salaries, he observed.
He said the containment effort is a joint responsibility, and it is not conducive if, instead of concentrating on the containment of the epidemic, people continually look for someone to blame. At the same time, in connection with the elderly care homes operated by the metropolitan municipality, the responsibility of the capital cannot just be pushed to one side, he said.
He recalled that at last week’s cabinet meeting, which was also attended by Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán instructed the Ministry of Interior to provide 500,000 tests for testing in elderly care homes in the capital. He added that the goal is to seek partnership with local governments, regardless of party-political affiliation, and he sincerely hopes that it will be possible to maintain normal relations with the Mayor of Budapest as well.
Regarding the fact that, on a scale of one to ten, the Mayor of Budapest ranked cooperation between the capital and the government as a two, he said it is every local government and state leader’s personal failure to assess their own cooperation at such a near-failure level. The government has no reason to give itself such a low mark, and they hope that the metropolitan municipality, too, will be improve that mark of two. He confirmed that in the present state of danger, everyone must seek partnership, regardless of party-political affiliation.
In response to the suggestion that, according to Gergely Karácsony, in mid-May the government could consider relaxing the present restrictions, he said he regards everything as mere conjecture; he would be pleased if the measures in force could be relaxed within the shortest possible time, but today no responsible statement can be made in this regard.
In answer to a question regarding the expected peak of the coronavirus epidemic, Mr Gulyás said the epidemic and the containment effort will probably last for months more, and it may well be that, after a decline, the number of incidences will start rising again and again. By now, we have managed to slow down the spread of infections, but this means that the peak, too, will come later. However, “we have perhaps got somewhat closer to an earlier peak,” he said, observing that the country is close to the number of infections falling below one.
Regrettably, however, we are not there yet where we could return to “our normal everyday lives,” he said.
He observed that everyone working in health care and law enforcement deserves our gratitude, as they contribute to maintaining the functioning of the country.
In response to another suggestion, he said if Gergely Karácsony reads the statements of his fellow party members and allies, he can see that – compared with them – the government’s style and use of words are restrained, moderate and gentlemanlike in connection with his activities and what happened at the Pesti út elderly care home.
In answer to the question as to whether they are planning to tighten the restrictions in order to prevent the development of epicentres similar to the one at the Pesti út elderly care home, he said they would like to tighten even the protocols if necessary. However, the operator’s responsibility cannot be avoided, either now or in the future.
Government Spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi said foreign examples are relevant, and they are continuously monitoring the situation in Austria. There, the authorities are talking about relaxing the restrictions, but we are not there yet, she stated.
Regarding the possibility of reopening schools, Mr Gulyás said the government has decided to uphold the restrictions introduced in mid-March, and will revisit the possibility of reopening every week. However, at this point, the time has not come yet.
In the context of testing, he observed that they are bearing in mind the WHO’s recommendations; testing combined with the application of quarantine regulations is the safest.
In answer to a question concerning ventilators, the Minister said, according to a worst-case scenario, the need might arise for as many as 8,000 to 8,5000 machines simultaneously. At present, there are 2,500 ventilators in Hungary. Therefore, they are doing everything they can to slow down the spread of the virus. In this department, we are doing well, but they are trying to procure more ventilators; the number of machines ordered is above 15,000. However, in the present market situation, there is no guarantee that these will actually arrive. At the same time, the majority of the available 2,500 ventilators are as yet free, he added.
He also said they are planning to involve church institutions in the containment effort; this is also part of the central health care containment plan.
In response to the fact that Minister of Human Capacities Miklós Kásler had recently released two hospital directors from their positions, he said the Operational Group is responsible for the conditions of an effective containment effort. At the same time, the Ministry of Human Capacities is responsible for ensuring the availability of the necessary conditions. In the present state of danger, every state agency and health care provider must observe the instructions of the Operational Group. If someone fails to meet the criteria, the necessary conclusions must be drawn, and in a situation like this, these are more stringent than usual. He knows in person Péter Cserháti, the recently released director general of the National Institute for Medical Rehabilitation, and has the best of opinions regarding his work as a physician and his human approach. At the same time, the specific claim in the case was that the institutions concerned had failed to meet the requirements of the preparations, while in Székesfehérvár data had only been supplied at a delay of several days, he observed. At the same time, in the present situation, implementing major changes in the management of hospitals is evidently not a goal, he added.
Regarding the vacation of hospital beds, the Minister said just because a bed is not occupied by a patient, it does not mean that it is immediately suitable for the treatment of a coronavirus patient. Coronavirus therapy requires the availability of special conditions, and in the case of ventilators, creating these conditions could take up to several weeks.
Mr Gulyás indicated that it is not politicians, but experts who determine how many hospital beds could be required in the event of the spread of such an epidemic. He observed that this could lead to inconveniences in health care, but in general the occupancy rate of hospital beds in Hungary stands at 67 to 68 per cent.
He also said the number of infected health care workers is between 150 and 200, and this ratio is somewhat better than corresponding international figures.
He indicated that it would be necessary to change over from the performance-oriented financing of hospitals to base financing as the number of treatments and operations had decreased. At the same time, it will result in further additional costs that, after the epidemic, due to the operations cancelled for the time being, more interventions will have to be carried out within a shorter time, he remarked.
The Minister also said the Hungary Helps Programme will not be abolished; however, the funds available for this programme for this year will be reduced. At the same time, this is a successful programme which we would like to maintain in the long run, he stated.
Mr Gulyás said they will announce ever further economy protection action plans; based on the available data, the government will review weekly the processes induced in the economy. The present situation results in a weekly GDP loss of HUF 200 billion; losses are enormous, and after just over a month, there is a 2 percentage-point decline in GDP, he said.
Regarding the range of companies eligible for wage support, he said there are ongoing consultations with economic interest representations, and wherever the budget’s burden bearing capacity allows, they will accept the recommendations of economic actors. In particular, if they serve the preservation of jobs or the creation of new ones. It is in the spirit of this that they accepted the proposal that the government should contribute to the payment of the wages of workers working in reduced working hours.
The wage supplement represents a monthly expenditure of HUF 60 to 70 billion, Mr Gulyás said, adding that what is an expenditure on one side is a preserved job and a profit for the economy on the other.
Government spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi mentioned that the government decree also allowing taxi drivers to take part in the supply of the population, including foodstuffs, food and other deliveries, was released on Wednesday evening. They will not be required to obtain a special permit for this, and a tax reduction is attached to these activities, she said.
In answer to another question, Mr Gulyás said they are exploring the possibility of extending contribution payment exemption to further sectors.
He also said at the same time that they are not supporting measures which would induce a benefit system; the Gyurcsány and Bajnai Governments earlier resorted to this path.
In answer to a question related to immigration, he highlighted that there is no guarantee that, after the passage of the threat of the epidemic, we will not be faced with a situation similar to that of the 2015 migrant crisis. Therefore, there is a great need for reinforcing the protection of the external borders.
The Minister also said today a significant percentage of contents released in the Western European press concerning Hungary reaches media outlets via internal political channels, through opposition interpretations.
At the press conference, Mr Gulyás offered his condolences on behalf of the government due to the death of György Fekete – interior designer, artist of the nation, Honorary President of the Hungarian Academy of Arts. He said his activities in public life and culture commanded much appreciation also during his life. He added that the government will honour Mr Fekete as one of their own.