From Monday the restrictions on movement in Budapest will cease to have effect; however, certain protective precautionary measures will remain in force, the head of the duty centre of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic said at an online press conference held on Sunday.

Police Colonel Tibor Lakatos underlined that the observance of certain protective measures would remain essential in order not to jeopardise the results we have achieved so far and to protect our own and our fellow compatriots’ lives and health.

As part of this, it will be compulsory for everyone to cover their faces with face masks or scarves in shops and on public transport, while persons over the age of 65 will only be allowed to visit shops, pharmacies and personal hygiene stores between 9.00 a.m. and 12.00 p.m. as before.

For markets local governments are free to determine different rules; however, they must make it possible for the elderly to do their shopping without exposure to the presence of younger people, he added.

Mr Lakatos highlighted that from zero hundred hours on Monday all shops and service outlets will be allowed to reopen to customers. Customers will be allowed to present on the garden and terrace premises of restaurants; however, only restaurant staff will be allowed to be present in the interior spaces of restaurants. At the same time, the operators of restaurants will not be required to pay a fee for the use of public premises such as outside terraces until the first of September.

He also said bathing facilities and outdoor baths, too, will be allowed to reopen as will outdoor museums and zoos. The Colonel drew attention to the fact that the operators of facilities will have to ensure that safe distancing is observed.

According to Mr Lakatos’s information, from Monday it will be possible to hold civil weddings and funerals, subject to keeping a safe distance at these events, while after 15 June post-wedding and post-funeral family events will also be allowed to be held, provided that the number of attendees does not exceed two hundred.

The restrictions on metropolitan higher education institutions will also be lifted, and rectors will decide about the personal attendance of students. At the same time, students will not be allowed to attend the residential facilities of higher education institutions.

Mr Lakatos said at present both outgoing and incoming traffic is smooth at every border crossing station.

He added that on Saturday 990 compulsory home quarantine orders had been issued, resulting in 10,470 such restrictive orders in effect in total at present. Compliance with the rules of compulsory home quarantine has been checked by the police almost 473,000 times so far. He said as many as 745 persons have registered in the system which electronically monitors compulsory home quarantine, while the number of active users stands at 546 as many persons’ quarantine has expired.

Ninety-two persons have completed the health questionnaire of the application, 4,542 remote checks have been carried out via the application, and police action has been required in 81 instances, he listed.

In answer to a question, Mr Lakatos said “it seems” that Austria will tie the entry of foreign nationals to negative coronavirus test results.

In his words, they are working on the introduction of further relaxing measures in border crossing in consultation with the countries concerned on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.

In answer to another question, he said the Operational Group will continuously monitor the status of the epidemic in a regional breakdown also after the lifting of restrictions from Monday. In the event of a deterioration in the epidemic situation, they could repeatedly impose the measures that are necessary for containing the epidemic, he said.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)