• Home
• Channel: Current Affairs
• Budapest Mayor Proposes Expanding Free Covid Testing

Budapest Mayor Proposes Expanding Free Covid Testing

• 11 Sep 2020 8:52 AM
• Hungary Matters

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony proposed expanding the scope of free testing for the coronavirus, in an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

In the letter published on his Facebook page, Karácsony asked Orbán about the government’s plans to “expand testing and to make free testing accessible” for everyone needing it.

“We clearly agree that no citizen should lose their job, and no child should stay out of school because they cannot afford adhering to the state-approved protocol,” Karácsony said.

In view of the virus spreading among young people and in schools, teachers’ testing for free should be a priority, the letter said.

The Budapest municipality has already taken steps to have all those using public transport wear masks and protects social care institutions especially carefully, Karácsony said.

However, Karácsony said government sources still failed to inform local authorities on the protection efforts “as they did during the first wave … despite the important role [local councils] played in curbing the spread of the virus.”

The mayor called for “speedy, unequivocal” statements on the government’s stance on free testing and on the danger of elderly people contracting the virus.

Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic Coalition said “faulty government measures” could lead to the mass closure of schools.

The government has failed to introduce “enforceable” protocols in schools; neither has it provided face masks or disinfectants in sufficient quantities, Gergely Arató, the party’s deputy group leader, told an online press conference on Thursday.

Moreover, the government has not made arrangements for the timely testing of teachers with Covid-19 symptoms or their contracts, he said, adding that several teachers had been forced to isolate themselves due to a lack of timely testing.

This, together with the government’s blithe attitude to testing and contact tracing, could lead to school shut-downs, he insisted.


MTI Photo: Szilárd Koszticsák

Related links

Opposition Party Calls For Free Coronavirus Testing In Hungary

Opposition DK Slams Four-Day Wait For Coronavirus Test Results

• How does this content make you feel?
• I love it
• I like it
• I dislike it

• Coronavirus Free Testing Budapest Mayor Mayor Karácsony

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

'Absurd': Charges Proposed Against Budapest Mayor

• 12 Dec 2025 8:03 AM

An investigation into the Budapest Pride march in June has concluded with a recommendation to raise charges, Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Thursday, adding that he is accused of violating the right of assembly.



Budapest Crisis: Lifeline Loan or Power Grab?

• 11 Dec 2025 6:17 AM

The government's aid loan programme is a "safety belt" for Budapest to ensure that the city remains functional, its employees get paid, and "nobody pockets the money owed to them", Alexandra Szentkirályi, the group leader of the ruling parties in the city assembly, said on Facebook on Monday.



Updated: 'Budapest Will Not Kneel', Says Mayor to Gov't

• 4 Dec 2025 12:00 PM

At a "Budapest Pride March 2.0" rally outside the Carmelite Monastery, the prime minister's office, Gergely Karacsony, the mayor of Budapest, vowed the city would "not kneel", as he handed the City Assembly's resolution on its "real financial crisis" to a government representative.



Budget Crisis Threatens Budapest’s Public Services, City Hall Rejects Insolvency Ultimatum

• 2 Dec 2025 6:15 AM

The financial stability of Budapest is currently at the centre of a fierce political standoff between the City Assembly and the national government. The dispute intensified this week after Mayor Gergely Karácsony and the city administration rejected a government proposal to declare the capital insolvent, an act the government had framed as a prerequisite for offering financial aid.