The health government’s “focus is on gradually restarting services”, the human resources ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The statement quoted Miklós Kásler, the minister, as telling hospital directors in a teleconference that Monday would see “a new phase in relaunching hospital services”.
The minister said that as a result of timely government action and a disciplined approach by residents the number of active and hospitalised coronavirus cases had decreased, and a third of the reserved beds in hospitals could again be used for routine treatments.
Kásler warned, however, that the epidemic was not over and stressed the importance of taking steps gradually.
According to the statement, hospitals could now “handle the number of beds more flexibly” and reintroduce planned inpatient therapies and elective procedures, as well as screening programmes.
Screening patients for coronavirus will be a crucial component aimed at protecting hospitals from the infection, the document said.
Concerning plans to concentrate Covid-19 patients in two hospitals in Budapest, the ministry said in its statement that 15 of the country’s 41 coronavirus hospitals had fewer than 10 patients each, and they could be transferred to central facilities “at a higher level of prevention”.