Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is supporting Hungary’s coronavirus protection efforts with 175 million euros to fund the procurement of ICU beds, protective gear, tests and disinfectants, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said. Varga said spending directly connected to the novel coronavirus epidemic has come to 600 billion forints (EUR 1.7bn) in Hungary so far. Hungary’s success in fighting the epidemic was partly thanks to timely measures, including the successful procurement of protective equipment, Varga said. The CEB has previously financed social developments in Hungary to the tune of 2 billion euros. The bank also advanced 50 billion forints for the construction of education facilities in June this year.