Hungary receives new batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines

BUDAPEST - The fourth batch of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines that Hungary had purchased arrived here on Saturday and were welcomed by the Hungarian minister of foreign affairs and trade at the airport.

Peter Szijjarto said the vaccines "allow us to further speed up our vaccination program, helping us to reach 4 million vaccinated Hungarians next week."

"This is a huge step towards victory, a huge step to get our population to safety, to restart the Hungarian economy, and to take further steps to bringing life back to normal."

When reaching the 4 million threshold, expected in the middle of next week, the Hungarian government plans to open a wide range of services to the population.

From Saturday, people are allowed to be served on an open terrasse of a restaurant or a hotel, although waiters have to wear masks.

Next week, theaters, cinemas, libraries, circuses, zoos as well as sports and fitness facilities will be reopened to those having a vaccination certificate, according to the government.

Hungary was the first EU member state to buy and authorize the use of Chinese vaccines, and it started to administer the Sinopharm vaccine on Feb. 24.