Hungarian journalists demand access to COVID wards

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — More than two dozen Hungarian media outlets on Wednesday sent an open letter to the government demanding greater transparency and access to hospitals for journalists covering the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only Hungary's state media have been allowed inside COVID wards, and journalists have complained that a government order prohibiting medical staff from speaking to reporters has made it impossible to report on worsening conditions inside hospitals, creating a false picture of the situation's severity.

“Doctors and nurses are not permitted to speak publicly while members of the press are not allowed into hospitals, so we are unable to report on what happens there,” the letter reads.

The outlets — 28 in all - demanded that journalists be granted access to report on conditions in COVID-19 wards, and that medical staff, who are prohibited by ministerial decree from speaking to the media, be permitted to give interviews.

“Since people are cut off from this information ... many are still downplaying the dangers of the pandemic, and are not observing protective measures which is leading to more illness and thus an exacerbation of the pandemic," the letter reads.

Viktoria Serdult, a reporter for online outlet HVG, one of the letter's signatories, told The Associated Press that access to such information “is a basic right for all and can also play a role in saving lives.”

“It is not our job to create panic, but the lack of information can have serious consequences,” Serdult said.

A devastating surge in COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in Hungary has put its understaffed hospitals under unprecedented strain. As a proportion of the population, more COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized in Hungary than in any of the European...