From 6.00 a.m. on Thursday, all border crossing stations operated on the Romanian-Hungarian border prior to the state of danger have reopened, a staff member of the duty centre of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic said at an online press conference held on Thursday.

Police Lt. Colonel Róbert Kiss said transit passengers heading for or arriving from Western Europe may cross the border at Csanádpalota, Nagylak and Ártánd. The Csanádpalota crossing point is open to passengers arriving by bus, the Nagylak crossing point may be used by persons travelling in passenger cars, while the Ártánd border crossing station is available for crossing for all vehicle types.

He highlighted that Romanian nationals who fly on from Liszt Ferenc International Airport to other destinations as well as those who fly into Hungary and travel on back to Romania are allowed to cross the border and are exempt from compulsory home quarantine. At the same time, they must observe certain rules on a mandatory basis, he underlined. Buses or minivans transporting them can only stop at designated filling stations and rest areas; drivers transporting passengers to the airport must leave the territory of Hungary at the border crossing point of entry within 24 hours, while those travelling by transit buses are required to leave Hungary via the designated route within the shortest time necessary for travel, Mr Kiss said.

He added that further conditions of entry for transit passengers are that they subject themselves to health screening, that they are not suspected of coronavirus infection, and that the drivers of minivans and buses verify with a journey form that they are transporting passengers to the airport, while passengers are required to prove that they have valid tickets and that entry into the country of destination is guaranteed.

The Lt. Colonel said the government is engaged in ongoing consultations with neighbouring countries regarding the reopening of further border crossing stations and the lifting of restrictions. He mentioned as an example that within a few days nationals of the two countries will be allowed to cross the Hungarian-Austrian border if they are able to prove with a certificate issued not more than four days previously in German, Hungarian or English that they are not infected with the coronavirus.

The staff member of the duty centre highlighted that as many as 1,145 persons have already registered for the mobile phone application which serves to monitor compliance with compulsory home quarantine; the number of active users currently stands at 837. In the past 24 hours, 850 new compulsory home quarantine orders have been issued, resulting in 11,103 orders in effect in total at present. The police have detected 31 related breaches during checks carried out in the past 24 hours.

He added that the number of criminal procedures instituted in connection with the epidemic had risen to 386, including 104 due to scaremongering, 28 due to the threat of public endangerment, 119 due to fraud and 21 due to the violation of disease control regulations. In these cases, the police have questioned 71 suspects to date.

Regarding border traffic, Mr Kiss said in cargo traffic on the entry side there is a two-hour delay at Tompa, a three-hour delay at Röszke and a one-hour delay at Csanádpalota, while on the exit side there are two-hour delays at Röszke and Ártánd and a one-hour delay at Csanádpalota. In passenger traffic on the entry side there is a delay of an hour and a half at Hegyeshalom, a two-hour delay at Nagylak and a one-hour delay at Ártánd, while on the exit side there is a three-hour wait at Nagylak.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister / MTI)