The tightening of some rules due to the coronavirus infection cannot be ruled out, Government Spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi said on the public service television news channel M1 on Thursday evening.

Ms. Szentkirályi said that thanks to the successful and swift measures adopted by the government, in Hungary the virus situation has been favourable, and the number of active infections is decreasing continuously. However, in neighbouring countries the number of infections is on the rise, and therefore the tightening of rules cannot be ruled out in Hungary either. The Operational Group will have a meeting on Thursday evening in order to discuss the matter, she added.

These days, in many cases infected patients in Hungary had been in contact with foreigners, and so Hungarians would do well to consider whether they should travel abroad, the government spokesperson observed.

Up to Wednesday, more than 232,000 questionnaires were completed in the national consultation; the deadline for posting is 15 August, Ms. Szentkirályi said.

Regarding the case of former Hungarian ambassador to Peru Gábor Kaleta, she said the government had been in favour of tightening the Penal Code in general also earlier. They have now set up a task force under the supervision of the head of Fidesz’s parliamentary group in order to make recommendations for even more stringent rules regarding the punishment of acts of this nature.

Recently, a court sentenced Mr Kaleta to imprisonment for one year – suspended for 2 years and 6 months – and a monetary fine of HUF 540,000 due to a child pornography offence, the possession of almost 20,000 pornographic images involving children.

The government spokesperson also said that local governments are best equipped to regulate the issue of Airbnb – short-term property rental – and so the government is delegating this task to them. This issue could be placed on the agenda of Parliament already at next week’s extraordinary sitting, Ms. Szentkirályi said.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)