Hungary announces new economic measures

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Budapest, Dec 20 (IANS) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced new economic relief measures to increase economy activity, as the number confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has topped the 300,000 mark.

"In the interests of families and businesses, the government has decided to add new items to its economic protection action plan," Xinhua news agency quoted Orban as saying in a Facebook post on Saturday, in which he listed the following decisions.

The first is to extend a moratorium on loan repayments by households and businesses until July 1, 2021, to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, Orban said.

The government will also offer subsidies to businesses that were temporarily shut down due to anti-pandemic measures, the Prime Minister said.

"They are supported by the government, as in December and January the government will pay two-thirds of the social charges of their employees," Orban said.

Additionally, local taxes for small and medium-sized enterprises will be halved from January 1, said Orban, who added that the measure is targeted at those in smaller settlements, with less than 25,000 inhabitants.

The government will also offer a special loan and non-refundable grants for families with children or expecting a child to renovate their homes, Orban said.

On Saturday, Hungary registered 4,045 new coronavirus cases, raising the national caseload to 300,022, according to the government's coronavirus information website.

In the past 24 hours, 189 people have died from the disease, taking the death toll to 7,914 in the country, while 93,323 have recovered so far.

Currently, 7,295 patients are being treated in hospitals, and 538 of them are on ventilators.

--IANS

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