Örs Farkas, spokesperson for the Government Communication Centre, speaking on news channel M1 on Tuesday morning.

Mr. Farkas explained that Hungary has successfully defended itself in the first wave of the pandemic, with the disciplined behaviour of the Hungarian people enabling a flattening of the curve of infections. He described the domestic situation as favourable, with a very low number of new infections and no deaths for several days.

Nevertheless, he added, not every country has been as successful, as we are witnessing a resurgence of the virus in Europe: the number of new cases has been rising both in certain European Union Member States and other countries bordering Hungary. Mr. Farkas stated that the Government hopes that the restoration of border controls can stop the introduction of the virus into Hungary and lead to the maintenance of the current favourable situation. He said that the Government hopes that compliance with basic hygiene and social distancing rules, the restoration of border controls, and – if necessary – the closing of border crossings will be sufficient to prevent a potential second wave of the pandemic, but the epidemiological situation may justify further measures.

The spokesperson also said that, according to a review of the figures on Monday, so far 400,000 citizens have filled out and returned national consultation questionnaires.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)