Hungary to Close Schools From Monday in About-Face for Orban

(Bloomberg) -- Hungary will close schools nationwide from Monday in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

The announcement, in a Facebook video on Friday evening, is a turnaround for the Hungarian leader, who in the morning of the same day ruled out closing schools for now despite demands by the country’s teachers to suspend classes with immediate effect. Education should continue teaching with distance-learning tools, he said.

Hungary will also bar travelers from Israel, the fifth country to be blacklisted for the coronavirus after China, South Korea, Iran and Italy.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoltan Simon in Budapest at zsimon@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net

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