Beginning on 7 September, Hungary has ordered a ban on leaving and visiting all social institutions that provide specialised care, based on a decree issued by the National Chief Medical Officer.

Exemption from the visiting ban may only be provided if someone would like to visit a relative who is in the final stage of a terminal illness.
The ban on leaving institutions is not applicable to night shelters and temporary accommodation for the homeless.

Institutions may only be left in exceptional cases, including to perform work or to receive medical treatment, or with the express permission of the institution’s director, in addition to which patients may leave institutions that provide mentally handicapped and psychiatric care and addictology services for the purposes of organised leisure activities.

It shall continue to not be regarded as leaving the institution if someone is in the facility’s garden or other property, and accordingly the restrictions are also not applicable in such cases. New patients may only be taken on if they are in possession of two negative COVID tests prior to registration. This regulation is not applicable to night shelters for the homeless. Homeless people who show signs of COVID-19 infection must in all cases be taken to a healthcare institution.

The full text of the decree may be found on the Social Sector portal of the www.kormany.hu website at the following link.

(Ministry of Human Capacities/MTI)