A nurse gives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to a patient at the Bethesda Children's Hospital as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Budapest, Hungary, November 23, 2021. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo
BUDAPEST: Hungary's daily tally of new COVID-19 infections jumped to a record 14,890 Wednesday but the number of patients treated in hospital has remained at a relatively low level.
The government said the Omicron coronavirus variant was "spreading strongly", fuelling new infections, but that people could avoid serious symptoms by having booster shots of a COVID-19 vaccine.
In Hungary, a country of 10 million, 40,686 people have died of COVID-19. There are 2,645 coronavirus patients in hospital, including 208 on ventilators.
There are only limited restrictions in place and schools are operating normally nationwide though wearing of protective masks is mandatory in some indoor places and on public transport.
Last week, the government announced it was making a fourth COVID-19 shot available to people who ask for it, after a consultation with a doctor.
"If it's been at least four months since someone's third vaccination, and they feel that they need a fourth dose, they can take it; and if it's been six months we recommend that they take it," Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday.
Just over six million Hungarians have received at least two shots, and 3.43 million have also received a third, but the country's vaccination rate still lags most western European levels.
