PM Orban: How Hungary Defeated Covid + Video

An exclusive documentary on Hungary's fight against the pandemic has been published on the Hungarian prime minister's YouTube channel.

Hungaria Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: MTI/Hungarian PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)

"The most important lesson of the coronavirus pandemic is that we Hungarians are capable of far more than we think of ourselves, and far more than others believe we are capable of," Hungary's prime minister posted on social media.  "The first information that something extraordinary was happening in China came in December 2019. Soon there was hardly a country in Western Europe where the pandemic was not taking hundreds of lives every day," he recalled.

We were facing an unknown threat, so we decided on total defense. Soon the virus was raging worldwide. Lives had to be saved in a completely uncertain environment: we were facing a previously unknown pathogen against which we had no defense, no medicine. Human lives were at stake, so I asked for preparations for the worst-case scenario. We could not allow even one person to die because there was no ventilator or the necessary equipment was not available.

PM Orban added, "In many places, physical fights broke out over which shipment would be loaded onto which aircraft. That’s why we had to send out the 'scouts and raiders'. Minister Szijjarto had a flawless team and secured everything we needed."

Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto remarked that it was necessary to locate manufacturing capacities in China that only Hungary knew about and identify companies with air transport resources. "It was an exciting period, but filled with fear and doubt because it was about saving lives," he said.

Viktor Orban noted:

"In 2021, Hungary led global vaccination statistics. A total of 6.5 million of our citizens received the COVID vaccine."

Our doctors and nurses knew they were playing with death, risking their health, yet they cared for COVID patients day and night every day. To be on the front line for two years without a break is an extraordinary challenge.

When we need to stand together, we count on every Hungarian, and we care about every Hungarian. For only the country has borders, the nation has none. That’s why we maintained constant hotlines with Hungarians beyond our borders to offer assistance wherever needed.

"In the crisis caused by the crown virus epidemic, we had to prove that the Hungarian state remains loyal to the Hungarian people. To be present in time of defense, to stand by those in need, is loyalty itself. And what did we give to the future? Many, many human lives. For us, every life counts!" wrote the prime minister.

"This is not a club for cowards; it’s a club for fighters. Whether it’s red sludge, a flood, a pandemic, or a war, you must be there. For standing by those in trouble is loyalty itself," said PM Orban.

 Drawing on archival footage from the MTI, MTVA, and Semmelweis University, the 37-minute video showcases the most important moments of Hungary's response from the outbreak of the pandemic to the point when the number of vaccinated citizens surpassed five million. Government members, epidemiological experts, and members of the operational group speak in the film.

Viktor Orban recalled the government's decision to build its pandemic response around the interior ministry.  Hospital capacities had to be expanded in case the number of patients increased significantly. "It cannot happen that even one person in this country dies because there is no ventilator, so I have ordered procurement," he said.

At the time he thought they had to prove to the people that the Hungarian state is loyal to them, PM Orban said. 

 "The country's leaders are fully aware of the gravity of the situation. We don’t monitor events from the safety of the Carmelite monastery or parliament. We’ll get through this together, cry together, and laugh together," he stated. He also noted that the most dramatic moments were when nurses contracted COVID from patients. "Their personal resilience was truly remarkable. The greatest risks were taken by nurses and doctors, who stood by patients every day," he added.

The video shows a scene where Viktor Orban was tested for COVID before a hospital visit, with a nurse calling the symptom-free leader "Superman." It also includes the moment he got vaccinated.

"The country has borders, but the nation does not. When there’s trouble, we count on every Hungarian, and we care for every Hungarian," said the prime minister, adding that the government was in constant contact with Hungarians beyond the borders, seeking ways to help.

Interior Minister Sandor Pinter noted that people trusted the decisions brought by the operational group, such as the introduction of designated shopping hours for the elderly, which were respected. State Secretary Zoltan Maruzsa mentioned the challenges of digital education. The film also features PM Orban’s meeting with Katalin Kariko, the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist.

Viktor Orban highlighted that even during times of crisis, innovation must not be abandoned, calling Katalin Kariko, who discovered the mRNA-based vaccine technology, a symbol of intellectual courage.

Quoting St Stephen's admonitions, Viktor Orban said: the Greeks cannot be governed in the Roman way, nor the Romans in the Greek way. He explained this as a reminder that every nation has its unique character.

"You cannot combat a virus [...] or govern a nation in peace time without knowing and feeling the essence of your people, which is rooted in history and culture," he emphasized. The documentary ends with the message: "When the crisis is great, Hungary never runs out of heroes. Respect to the everyday heroes!"

Cover photo: Hungaria Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Photo: MTI/Hungarian PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer)