Журнал. World association for medical law. The COVID-19 pandemic. Volume 39 2

191 World Association for Medical Law Medicine and Law HEALTH AND LEGAL POLICY IN HUNGARYAT THE TIME OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC Judit Sándor 1 Abstract: Just as in many countries, the Covid-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to the Hungarian society in a variety of ways. It was a test to the health care system which had already lacked resources even before the pandemic: deteriorating infrastructure, worsening hygienic conditions, and growing scarcity of doctors and nurses had impaired the health care sector. While it seems that the country survived with a relatively little loss in the first wave of the epidemic between February and May, some political and social changes will remain with us even after the pandemic passes. It has become obvious that the techniques of containing the epidemic can be extended to implement stricter political control over the population. Deploying military rhetoric have also contributed to the normalization of the state of exception: people, in general, got used to the “state of danger” and accepted the disciplinary measures as normal. This fight to suppress the epidemic have therefore strengthened populism in the country as it proved to be a continuation of fights against other enemies (migrants, minorities, foreigners, etc.) in order to unite society behind its leaders. Based on these mixed elements of health and political control, it is necessary to discuss public health measures and extending political control in parallel with each other, as they are inseparable in our biopolitical reality today. Keywords: Covid-19; Hungarian Health Care; State of Danger; Enabling Act; Pandemics 1 Judit Sandor is a professor at the Central European University, director of the Center for Ethics and Law in Biomedicine and Member of the BoG at WAML. Email: Sandorj@ceu.edu Med Law (2020) 39:2:191-202