BUDAPEST, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Every Hungarian healthcare workers will receive a special bonus of 500,000 forints (1,475.4 U.S. dollars) this year, Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared here on Friday.
"This year, every healthcare worker will receive an additional 500,000 forints," Orban said on public radio station MR1, during his regular Friday morning interview. "Details about the payment and other measures will be made public on Saturday," he added.
Orban also spoke about the restriction on movements introduced on March 28, till April 11, saying that a decision on the lockdown would be made on Wednesday during the next session of the government.
"If we must, we will prolong the lockdown, but I feel myself that it is an unnatural situation," he said.
He noted that Easter, a family holiday, was approaching. "One would visit relatives... but it will hardly be possible now, or only with strict restrictions," he warned.
With regard to the criticism from the European Union (EU) about the coronavirus emergency law which has given Orban special powers, he said: "Brussels is dealing with us, when it should be dealing with the virus."
On Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her concern about the law, saying "I understand that member states may need to take emergency measures to address the immediate health crisis, but I am concerned that certain measures go too far, and I am particularly concerned with the situation in Hungary."
Dismissing it, Orban said: "In Brussels, they sit isolated in some kind of bubble and give advice instead of saving lives."
According to official figures, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Hungary stood at 623 on Friday, with 43 reported recoveries and 26 fatalities. (1 U.S. dollar = 339 Hungarian forints)
