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ORBÁN: RESTRICTIONS TO STAY FOR NOW

"Hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a public radio interview in connection with the novel coronavirus epidemic.
 

Orbán told Kossuth Radio the time had not yet come when it was possible to relax restrictions. The prime minister said it wanted people’s lives to return to normal but he dare not tell them to relax. Looking to Austria, he added, if some restrictions are lifted there without a corresponding increase in infections, then Hungary will also consider easing some of them. “Let’s be glad that for once, we’re not the guinea pigs,” he added.
Meanwhile, Orbán said it was inevitable that special rules for Budapest would have to be introduced. He noted that 60% of infections are in Budapest, while this figure rises to 80% taking Budapest and Pest County together. It would not make sense to implement the exact same measures in a small village and in the capital, so it may be time to start considering different rules for different municipalities as early as next week, he said.
Orbán said special measures implemented by mayors in their cities and towns for the Easter holidays had proven effective, so they will again be given the authority to impose restrictions for this coming weekend.