Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Let us into hospitals to show real COVID picture, says Hungary's media

Let us into hospitals to show real COVID picture, says Hungary's media

A government decree bans journalists from reporting inside hospitals or interviewing health care professionals. Journalists say this risks "exacerbating the epidemic".

Media in Hungary say a government ban on them from talking to medical staff or reporting from hospitals is putting lives at risk.

The country, hit by a record-breaking third wave of COVID-19, has one of the highest levels of new cases per capita in the world.

In an open letter, 28 Hungarian media outlets demanded that they be allowed inside Hungarian hospitals to talk to medical staff and get a "real picture" of the epidemiological situation sweeping the country.

"Lack of information has serious consequences," they said, arguing that because there is no "real-life material from inside hospitals, many are still downplaying the dangers of the epidemic, not taking protective measures, and this can only lead to more illness and, through it, to an exacerbation of the epidemic."

Like much of Europe, Hungary has been tackling a third wave since mid-February. It is now in its fourth week of new lockdown measures.

But new cases have continued to rise with more than 11,265 infections confirmed on March 26 — the highest one-day number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic.

As a proportion of the population, more COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospitals in Hungary than in any other EU country except Bulgaria.

Deaths have followed suit. The country deplored the loss of a record 302 fatalities on Wednesday and continues to have the highest weekly death rate per 1 million inhabitants in the world.

The country of 9.7 million has so far lost 20,737 lives to the pandemic.

These worrying figures come despite the country registering the highest vaccination rate in Europe. Over two million people — so more than 20 per cent of the population — have received at least one dose.

Hungarian health authorities have approved the vaccines backed by the European Medicines Agency as well as Russia's Sputnik V and China's Sinopharm.

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said however that "hospitals are for saving people's lives, not for camera crews to disturb hard-working professionals".


In a statement on Facebook, he also accused "left-wing portals" of spreading "fake news to discredit Hungary's healthcare".

The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been accused of cracking down on the free press, including by the European Commission.

The Council of Europe said on Tuesday that "the combined effects of a politically controlled media regulatory authority and distortionary state intervention in the media market have eroded media pluralism and freedom of expression in Hungary".

The human rights organisation called on the Hungarian authorities "to show due regard for the editorial independence of all public and private media" and to condemn all instances of hate speech against journalists.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
×