From Wednesday, Czech, Slovak and Hungarian nationals are allowed to enter one another’s countries without the obligation of being quarantined if their stay in the other country does not exceed 48 hours, 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 Wednesday.

Róbert Kiss said the government decree on border crossing from the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia entered into force on Wednesday. According to this, Czech and Slovak nationals are allowed to enter the territory of Hungary in passenger traffic without the obligation of being quarantined if their stay in Hungary does not exceed 48 hours.

The government decree also lays down that Hungarian nationals may enter Hungary from Austria if their stay in the Czech Republic was not longer than 48 hours. The rules relating to Hungarian nationals also apply to nationals of the European Economic Area if they have permanent residence in the country and are able to prove this with a permanent residency card.

He highlighted that on Tuesday the government had submitted the bill on the lifting of the state of danger to Parliament. Pursuant to the proposed legislation, the Operational Group’s duty centre will continue its operation and will remain in charge of the containment effort in the fight against the epidemic.

We are preparing for a possible second wave, and in consequence of this, the duty centre will continue to perform its duties, he said, adding that the special legal order will be replaced with a ‘health care crisis situation’.

Mr Kiss said the cabinet is also holding a meeting on Wednesday where they will analyse the epidemic situation and will decide on further steps and measures. Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office will inform members of the public and the press about the details on Thursday.

He highlighted that the number of persons registering for the IT application downloadable onto mobile phones which serves the electronic monitoring of compulsory home quarantine had risen to 1,597. On Tuesday, 532 compulsory home quarantine orders were issued, resulting in 11,616 such restrictive orders in effect in total at present. On Tuesday, the police took action in 42 instances due to the violation of the rules related to compulsory home quarantine.

So far 401 criminal procedures have been instituted in connection with the epidemic, including 107 due to scaremongering, 29 due to the threat of public endangerment, 127 due to fraud and 21 due to the violation of disease control regulations. The police have questioned 80 persons in these cases to date.

He added that the police were still checking the observance of the rule of keeping a safe distance, the wearing of face masks on public transport and in shops, and compliance with the shopping hours reserved for the elderly. Due to the violation of these rules, the police took action in 14 instances on Tuesday, including 8 cautions and 6 onsite fines. Since 4 May, the police have taken action against 1,008 individuals on such grounds.

According to Mr Kiss’s information, on Wednesday morning, in cargo traffic on the entry side there was a four-hour delay at Röszke, a two-hour delay at Tompa and a one-hour delay at Ártánd. On the exit side, at present there are delays of up to an hour at Csanádpalota. In passenger traffic on the entry side at Nagylak there is also a one-hour wait, he said.

In answer to a question, he stressed that there is a continued need for the time slot reserved for the elderly in certain shops as persons over the age of 65 are most at risk from diseases related to coronavirus infection. He added at the same time that they are continuously monitoring the situation.

In answer to another question, he said expired personal documents are only accepted for official administration in the territory of Hungary. Hungarian nationals can only travel abroad with valid personal documents.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)