DK wants teachers, students tested before schools reopen

Sandor Szaniszlo, the (DK) mayor of Budapest’s 18th district, told an online press conference on Saturday that while schools were set to reopen on April 19, teachers and families would not yet have developed a sufficient level of immunity to the virus by then.

The 18th district council will use its own budget to test all students and teachers in the district who want to be tested on April 17-18 so as to avoid schools becoming “superspreader clusters”, he said.

Szaniszlo said there was also a need for nationwide mass testing, arguing that the country’s hospitals were overwhelmed “due to the government’s botched handling of the pandemic”.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday said secondary schools will fully reopen on May 10 after final exams have taken place.