Further consignments of protective supplies have arrived in hospitals, 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.

Police Lt. Colonel Róbert Kiss said on Tuesday individual protective supplies had been delivered to 37 locations, including 26 hospitals and 11 organisations involved in the containment effort.

In hospitals hospital commanders received the consignments, taking delivery of and registering the incoming individual protective supplies. They will later check their utilisation, he said.

He also highlighted that from Wednesday another two border crossing points had been opened at the Austrian-Hungarian border; those returning from abroad and cross-border commuters are now allowed to cross the border at Alsószölnök in Vas County between 7.00 a.m. and 7.00 p.m. and at Jánossomorja in Győr-Moson-Sopron County between 5.00 a.m. and 9.00 p.m.

He said as many as 535 persons have already opted for the electronic monitoring of compulsory home quarantine. At present, there are 499 persons under electronic surveillance, he added.

According to his information, on Tuesday 726 compulsory home quarantine orders were issued, resulting in 11,053 such restrictive orders in effect at present. On Tuesday, the police were required to take action in 26 instances due to the violation of the rules of compulsory home quarantine.

On Tuesday, the police took action in 258 instances in connection with the violation of the rules related to the restrictions on movement in Budapest and Pest County, including 134 cautions, 69 onsite fines and 55 prosecutions. The police have checked compliance with the restrictions on movement since 28 March, and have been required to take action in 49,563 instances in total.

In the countryside the police are checking compliance with the rules related to the newly-introduced protective measures. On Tuesday, they detected 55 violations, resulting in 41 cautions, 10 onsite fines and 4 prosecutions. The police have so far taken action in 673 instances against persons failing to observe the new rules which entered into force from 4 May.

Regarding border traffic, he said in cargo traffic on the entry side there is a delay of an hour and a half at Hegyeshalom, a two-hour delay at Tompa, a three-hour delay at Röszke and a one-hour delay at Csanádpalota and Csengersima, while on the exit side lorry drivers could expect delays of up to 2 hours at Csanádpalota. In passenger traffic, there is a two-hour delay on the entry side at Nagylak.

In answer to a question about the rules that apply to persons who visit their holiday homes abroad and the return to Hungary, Mr Kiss said the primary advice is that before travelling abroad, people should consult the website of the consular services in order to ascertain whether entry into the country of destination is allowed. He added that according to the rules in force, Hungarian nationals returning home from abroad are subjected to health screening at the border.

If the suspicion of infection emerges in the case of anyone, they are transferred to a designated quarantine site.

If there is no suspicion of infection, they are required to retire to compulsory home quarantine.

He observed that the compulsory home quarantine is not applicable to a person who has recovered from the infection and displays no symptoms or is able to verify that they were under disease control observation abroad for 14 days or more. Exemption from compulsory home quarantine may be sought on grounds deserving special consideration in individual circumstances from the disease control authority, he added.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)