Hungary will extend the moratorium on the repayment of instalment loans for some households and companies until mid-2021, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on his official Facebook page following a meeting of the Economy Protection Operational Group.
The moratorium was introduced in March to support all companies and private borrowers in the thick of the coronavirus crisis. This was one of the government’s key measures against the economic consequences of the pandemic. The moratorium was due to expire at the end of the year.
Orban said the moratorium would be automatically extended by six months for families with children, retirees, the unemployed and those involved in community service programs. In case they want to resume their payments, they could just visit the bank, he explained.
The extension of the moratorium until mid-2021 will also apply to those companies whose revenues have fallen by at least 25 percent. But they will have to notify the authorities that they desire an extension.
The Hungarian government is preparing to announce more measures to revive growth, after the economy reported a larger-than-expected decline in the second quarter, and the outlook for recovery next year is gloomy.
809 new coronavirus cases
Hungary has not been spared the new surge in infections that is sweeping across Europe. The number of registered coronavirus infections in Hungary has risen by 809 to 16 920, and six Covid-19 patients, all suffering from underlying conditions, have died in the past 24 hours, koronavirus.gov.hu informed on Saturday morning. The death toll stands at 675, and 4 382 people have recovered.
Most infections have been registered in Budapest (7 059), followed by Pest County (2 296) and the counties of Fejer (850), Gyor-Moson-Sopron (664), Hajdu-Bihar (648) and Csongrad-Csanad (637). Bekes County has the fewest infections (118).
Earlier this month, Orbán announced immediate protection measures against the second wave of the coronavirus, including compulsory mask wearing indoors, blanket ban on hospital and care home visits and closing of nightclubs at 11 p.m. The government also introduced a limit on the price of PCR tests.
Source: TheMayor.EU
