Hungary has extended until February a state of emergency that enables partial lockdown measures aimed at curbing a surge in coronavirus deaths, AFP reported, citing a government decree.

Originally mandated to December 11, the decree, published late Tuesday, now makes it possible for the government to maintain the restrictions a further two months until February 8.

The measures — including a curfew between 8pm and 5am, a ban on gatherings, mandatory mask-wearing in public, and online tuition for high schools and universities — were brought in as part of a state of emergency in place since November 11.

Coronavirus deaths and cases have surged in Hungary since September, with the leading doctors' association warning that understaffed hospitals could soon be overwhelmed.

Seven-day rolling average data from the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) show that by Wednesday Hungary had the fourth-highest Covid-19 death rate per million in the bloc — behind the Czech Republic, Belgium, and Bulgaria.