World's first Hungary for COVID-19 mortality rate

Hungary, flooded by the third wave of COVID-19 epidemic, has had the highest death rate in the world for the last seven days, according to the AFP database.

The death toll increased by more than 40 percent from the previous seven days and reached a new peak on Thursday to 272 deaths.

The deteriorating situation brought the country, with 9.8 million inhabitants in the world's first place for the period, with 15.7 deaths per 100,000 people, ahead of the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia and Bulgaria.

Infections erupted after the appearance of the British version in February. There have been slightly fewer than 10,000 new cases in Hungary in the last 24 hours.

Hospitals are flooded with an influx of patients, about 12,000 at the moment, and there is a lack of personnel, the Hungarian Medical Association (IOC) warned this week.

“The theatres of the operation are closed and their breathing devices are being used for fat patients”, an association official said in a statement, comparing the situation to that in Bergamo in the spring of 2020.

Medical students were called in to help, and several institutions also sought help from volunteers.

Authorities are trying to calm the public and Gergely Gulyas, head of Victor Orban's office, said the “situata is difficult, but the system has the capacity to deal with these large numbers”.

The government is relying on a vaccine campaign to stop the spread of the virus.

Hungary, the only member of the European Union using Chinese Sinopharm and Russian vaccine Sputnik V, in addition to those supplied by Brussels (Pfizer - BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca, vaccinated mostly in the European Union after Malta.

So far, more than 1.7 million people, or 18 percent of the population, have received at least one dose.

“Sapo to vaccinate 2.5 million people, restrictive measures will be able to ease and schools will hold classes, no sooner than April 12th or 19th,” stressed Gulyas.