Hungarian envoy caught Covid during infected foreign minister’s Bangkok visit

By The Nation

 

 

Health authorities say the Hungarian diplomat who was among four new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday probably caught the disease when he greeted Hungary’s visiting foreign minister in Bangkok last week.

 

Dr Sopon Iamsirithaworn, director of the Division of Communicable Diseases, said on Tuesday that the 53-year-old unnamed Hungarian diplomat had tested positive after meeting Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto last Tuesday (November 3).

 

After arriving in Bangkok from Cambodia, Szijjarto spent 30 minutes talking and eating with the diplomat and other embassy staff, before testing positive on November 4 and leaving the country.

 

On November 5-8, the diplomat self-quarantined at home. He tested positive on November 9 and was transferred for treatment at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute.

 

Sixteen high-risk contacts who were exposed to the Hungarian minister have all since tested negative for Covid-19. Tests on the diplomat's close contacts have also come back negative.

 

In Cambodia, four people linked with Szijjarto’s visit have tested positive. They are the Hungarian ambassador, a Cambodian bodyguard, a lawmaker from Cambodian PM Hun Sen’s ruling party and a senior Agriculture Ministry official.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30397695

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-11-10

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Did the diplomat not to do the 15 day quarantine ?

 

I thought this loophole was closed?

2 hours ago, AmySeeker said:

Did the diplomat not to do the 15 day quarantine ?

I thought this loophole was closed?

If you are truly actually interested, please feel free to read prior news posts on the issue:

 

European minister’s official visit cut short as he tests positive for Covid-19
By webfact, November 4 in Thailand News

 

ASQ Conditions
August 28 in COVID-19: Coronavirus forum

 

 

...but please please disregard any and all previous news posts mentioning new requirement for diplomats or their staff as you should never believe everything you read, so just skip reading these:

 

Ambassadors entering Thailand will be quarantined: CCSA
By webfact, July 17 in Thailand News

 

Thailand changes entry rules after new COVID-19 cases spark second wave fear
By snoop1130, July 14 in Thailand News

Thailand confirms coronavirus case linked to infected Hungarian minister

By Panarat Thepgumpanat

 

FILE PHOTO: Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto (L) wearing protective face mask, arrives for a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam October 16, 2020. REUTERS/Kham

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand said on Tuesday a Hungarian diplomat had become infected with the coronavirus after being in contact with his foreign minister whose tour to the region was suspended last week after he tested positive for the virus.

 

Cambodian authorities said on Monday at least four coronavirus infections there were believed to be linked to a visit by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his relatives were among more than 1,000 people who were tested because of the visit and were confirmed negative.

 

Szijjarto was found to be infected with the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand from Cambodia on Nov. 3, Thai authorities said earlier.

 

The Bangkok-based Hungarian diplomat, 53, tested positive on Monday. He had been in close proximity with Szijjarto shortly before a test he was given upon entry to Thailand confirmed he was infected, a Thai health official said.

 

"They were in the same car that picked up the minister and had a meal together," Sophon Iamsirithaworn, director of the Disease Control Department, told a news conference.

 

He did not identify the diplomat but said 16 people in Thailand who were exposed to Szijjarto had returned negative tests.

 

PANDEMIC REGULATIONS

Hungary's foreign ministry said in an emailed reply to Reuters that Szijjarto had tested negative for COVID-19 shortly before his departure for Asia. They said a routine test proved positive after he arrived to Bangkok.

 

Asked if Szijjarto wore a mask during his meetings in Asia, the ministry said: "The minister always complies with the pandemic regulations of the host country and fulfils the requests of the hosts."

 

The foreign ministries of Cambodia and Thailand did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

Both Thailand and Cambodia have successfully kept a lid on their coronavirus outbreaks, with 3,844 and 297 infections respectively, due in part to tight entry requirements and quarantine, where most recent infections have been found.

 

Thailand has recorded 60 COVID-19 deaths and Cambodia none.

 

By comparison, Hungary has seen a spike in cases since September, reporting an average 4,580 new daily infections and record fatalities in two of the past four days. It has had Europe's third-highest death rate per 100,000 people in the past two weeks.

 

(Additional reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng in Bangkok, Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh and Gergely Szakacs in Budapest; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel and Gareth Jones)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-11

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

That dirty farangs for you infect and leg it ????

magically shortened incubation period, TIT

New York Times reports:

■ Peter Szijjarto, the Hungarian foreign minister, came to Southeast Asia to promote trade and investment. He tested positive for the coronavirus last week, and at least five people who had contact with him in Thailand and Cambodia have become infected.

Reported Flame post and troll posts/response removed.

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Sixteen high-risk contacts who were exposed to the Hungarian minister have all since tested negative for Covid-19. Tests on the diplomat's close contacts have also come back negative.

Such a highly infectios desease this one... ????

Wow. That Hungarian dude could have really screwed up Cambodia and Thailand if they can't get on top of the outbreak. Maybe Thailand will be spared because he was only here for half an hour.

 

But in Cambodia they tested over 1000 people already. And closed schools, museums, cinemas, massage parlours and KTVs. He must have gone around a lot of places and had a packed agenda. Even the PM is in self quarantine.

 

I was wondering if he is one of them from a far right wing populist party that lies to its people that Coronavirus is nothing more than a little flu. And then goes to some of the poorest countries in the world like Cambodia without decent health facilities to defend itself, and organizes super-spreader events that could decimate the health and economy of the country. 

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Szijjarto was found to be infected with the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand from Cambodia on Nov. 3, Thai authorities said earlier.

Nice of him to share it around.. very diplomatic.

In response to Ketyo... Well in a way he already has affected things, because there is now a 2 week period announced in Cambodia where no face-to-face meetings between and with government staff is allowed. This is disrupting training events and meetings, that now all have to be done remotely, instead of in person meetings as was the norm since a few months.

Edited November 11, 20205 yr by Amplish
Forgot to quote previous post

7 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

That dirty farangs for you infect and leg it ????

... or these dirty girls from the cheap Cambodian escort service. One shouldn't try to save taxpayers money, it only makes sick. ????

This case shows the importance og quarantine, if Thailand is going to remain Covid-19 free.

Who cares lol what a laugh 

8 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

That dirty farangs for you infect and leg it ????

..i wonder what other diseases he caught?

“Probably” ????????????