“It is quite certain that something needs to be done” – compared to the past months, the words of the infectologist János Szlávik M1 channel when they asked whether further restrictive measures may be needed due to deteriorating epidemiological data. As a novelty, it is only because the government has been basing its defense solely on vaccination for months, and judging from the statements, it does not seem to want to change anything about that.
For months now, the mask has not been mandatory in almost anywhere in Hungary, most events – with the exception of sports events and music and dance venues – can be visited without a security certificate, and there are no restrictions in hotels or restaurants. (Currently, the mask is mandatory only in health and social care institutions.)
In November 2020, the attitude was different
© MTI / Zoltán Balogh
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Nor does the words of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán show that he would support the use of masks. Ordinary breakfast radio interview straight worded as follows: “Let us not rock ourselves under the illusion that the mask protects us.”
However, few agree with this statement by the Prime Minister. Published by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on October 11 in its resolution he asked everyone to wear a mask indoors, at events, on public transport. The Ministry of Human Resources only responded to the request:
the mask is not mandatory, but it is not forbidden, if someone wants to wear, you can safely do it.
Straight FFP2 mask would be mandatory on public transport Kunetz Zsombor health expert, Gábor Kemenesi, a virologist at the University of Pécs, citing a recent South Korean study confirmedwhy it is life-saving to cover your mouth and nose on vehicles.
Yet, in Hungary, the warnings of researchers seem to find deaf ears. Although the epidemic numbers they rise steeply, more and more people are in hospitals and are on the ventilator, on public transport, in shops, but even in cinemas and theaters you can rarely meet people who wear masks. But does such a decision really depend solely on central instruction? Where can mask use be ordered on its own and where should the government wait for action?
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Who is responsible?
One thing is true: a lot depends on the government, as the current government decree has removed the power to wear a mask from the hands of local governments. The latter can only tighten in their own territory, in their customer services, or in their own companies, in their internal areas, but not on the street, in shops, on public transport.
The latter opportunities have been exploited by several municipalities, for example in Kazincbarcika from October 25 it is mandatory to wear a mask in some places. On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Municipality decidedthat it did not wait any longer and announced epidemiological austerity measures. According to this, in the capital-maintained nursing homes, from November 2, a curfew will be introduced for the cared for, they can only visit their families. And if they come back from there, they will be isolated for a few days and will be checked by quick tests to see if they are infected. Mandatory mask wearing is also required in the institutions, but contactless visits will still be possible.
However, they cannot do more than that at present. Due to their competence and the legal environment, shops and shopping malls are still not covered by the obligation to wear masks on public transport. That is:
at most, BKK can strongly ask its passengers to wear masks, which they either adhere to or do not.
A XII. district at the same time already entered: in the cultural and sports institutions of the mountain municipality, the mask is obligatory for those over 6 years of age from 1 November.
The capital has been trying to change this for some time, but with little success. Mayor Gergely Karácsony sent a letter to Sándor Pintér asking for the rules to be amended, but in his reply the Minister of the Interior only wrote that the operative staff had received the proposals formulated by the Board of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and are currently being studied by their working groups.
However, Deputy Mayor Kiss Ambrus thinks of this: it does not mean a change in legislation, it has at most brought about a change in mood in the attitude of the Ministry of the Interior.
At the Danube – the statue of Attila József in Kossuth Lajos Square (created by sculptor László Marton) in April 2021
© MTI
– – At its own discretion However, it would be a mistake to believe that the current government regulations could not be tightened at all. While there is a real need to wait for a central instruction on public transport, railroads, shops, there are a number of places where management has decided on protection measures in its own jurisdiction. Such places are, for example, universities, more and more of which have announced in recent weeks that it is mandatory to wear masks within their buildings. Among others, in addition to the University of Debrecen, the University of Pécs, ELTE and Pázmány, it is now mandatory to wear a mask at the University of Eger, the Neumann János University in Kecskemét and the Budapest campus of the János Kodolányi University, but decided so on Tuesday also the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. There are places where the body temperature of those entering the buildings is re-measured, elsewhere participants are only admitted to university events with a security certificate. They have the opportunity to do so, in the case of universities, the rector can introduce such regulations. In its reply to hvg.hu, the Liszt Ferenc University of Music, for example, referred to the fact that the university’s management, as an employer, is also responsible for ensuring the conditions for healthy, safe work. “We have to follow the current epidemiological regulations, but in the opinion of our legal department, no higher regulation prohibits us from introducing stricter ones, however, of course we cannot impose sanctions on them,” they added. Eötvös Loránd University has a similar opinion, where a separate Epidemiological Operational Coordinating Body has been established, but many higher education institutions have already made similar decisions. Not only higher education institutions but also secondary schools have taken control. As it is eduline.hu also wrote, many primary and secondary school students already have to wear a mask in the classroom. There are places where only lower graders are given a “waiver”, elsewhere teachers have to weigh the risks: if it is not possible to keep a protective distance of one and a half meters, they can make wearing a mask mandatory in their own lessons. Strange as it may seem, schools have the opportunity to do the same. Although the mask is not mandatory centrally in the country, if the parental work community agrees, the principals of each school can issue a stricter instruction, as nothing prohibits this – hvg.hu found out. This was also confirmed for our paper by the Ministry of Human Resources, which wrote that the action plan on the procedure to be applied in public education institutions during epidemiological preparedness also contains recommendations on the wearing of masks. It may take action in accordance with its policy with the consent of the school, the student government and the parent organization. Theaters are also being investigated The situation is a little different in theaters and cinemas, where, in addition to protecting spectators and staff, revenue must also be provided. At the moment, neither wearing a mask nor a protection card is mandatory, and since July they have been practically free to visit. President János Áder (b2), his wife, Anita Herczegh (b) and Gergely Gulyás, Prime Minister, at the opening of the Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera on 25 October 2021
© MTI / Balázs Mohai
– – Nevertheless, there are still theaters that have introduced stricter measures: the Szkéné Theater has already decided to, that, by its own jurisdiction, it makes the attendance of performances there by wearing a mask, and, as we have already written, this is also the rule at the Academy of Music. However, the Örkény Theater failed initiative: the institution had previously decided to make the attendance of lectures subject to a security certificate, as according to the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, this practice would not have been lawful from a data management point of view. In Örkény, it is now highly recommended to wear a mask, and in accordance with the previous epidemiological protocol, the spaces and surfaces used by spectators are disinfected before performances, non-contact disinfectant dispensers are placed in public areas, “Last week, the mandatory wearing of the FFP2 mask inside the building was introduced among theater workers, with the exception of those playing on stage. 100 percent of our actors and 99 percent of our employees are vaccinated, and our unvaccinated colleagues are tested on a daily basis. If anyone shows symptoms or is a contact person, we will test them immediately, regardless of vaccination, ”they wrote in a reply to our paper. The Katona József Theater is currently examining what room for maneuver it has in relation to further tightening, as “for the time being, there does not seem to be any intention at the governmental level to introduce restrictive measures in legislation. At least this kind of information did not reach us, ”they wrote to our paper. According to the theater’s board of directors, their options currently include offering masks to our spectators, placing hand sanitizers, regularly disinfecting the auditorium, and colleagues in contact with spectators behind a plexiglass or wearing a mask. For the time being, along with most theaters, most cinemas have not made the mask mandatory, as the relevant legislation allows them to do. At the same time, Andrea Buda, the marketing and PR director of the Cinema City cinema network, told hvg.hu: if the laws require it, they will of course change the rules. Technically, both the presentation of the security certificate and the chair omission can be solved, but it was no accident that they waited for the opening in the summer either: when the security card was canceled, traffic increased by 30 percent. –
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