The government decree providing for the protective measures in effect from Monday in relation to the entire country with the exception of Budapest has been published in Magyar Közlöny [Hungarian Gazette], a staff member of the duty centre of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus said at an online press conference held on Saturday.

Róbert Kiss said, pursuant to the decree, from Monday restaurants and other catering establishments will be allowed to reopen their interior spaces to customers in addition to their gardens and terraces. Workers will be required to wear protective equipment (surgical face masks or scarves). At the same time, operators are required to enforce the rules relating to keeping a safe distance. Another change is that hotels and guest houses, too, will be allowed to receive guests.

Also in this phase of the containment effort, the rules relating to the compulsory wearing of protective equipment on public transport and in shops, keeping a safe distance and the shopping time slot reserved for the elderly will remain in effect, he added.

He pointed out that those who violate the rules commit a breach of the law, and will be prosecuted.

Regarding the second phase of the containment effort, he also highlighted that after 1 June it will be possible to hold family events after funerals and weddings, including musical entertainment.

He said ever more persons in compulsory home quarantine are consenting to the electronic monitoring by the police of compliance with the relevant restrictive measures. So far, 716 persons have downloaded the application onto their mobile devices and have begun to use the software; at present, there are 579 active users.

According to his information, on Friday 890 compulsory home quarantine orders were issued, with 10,742 such restrictive orders in effect in total at present. On Friday, the police were required to take action in 30 instances in connection with the violation of the rules related to compulsory home quarantine.

On Friday, the police took action in 361 instances against persons violating the rules of the restrictions on movement in effect in Budapest and Pest County, including 211 cautions, 89 onsite fines and 61 prosecutions. The police have checked compliance with the restrictions on movement since 28 March, having taken action in 50,074 instances so far.

In the countryside, the police are monitoring compliance with the new protective measures. On Friday, they detected 64 breaches, leading to 40 cautions, 12 onsite fines and 12 prosecutions. So far the police have been required to take action against persons violating the new rules in effect from 4 May in 821 instances.

Regarding border traffic, he said there are major delays at the border at Nagylak after changes were implemented in the Romanian border control protocol. There are delays of more than six hours both on the exit and entry sides.

In answer to a question related to Slovenia’s decision to open its borders, he said the responsibilities of the Hungarian border guarding agencies have not changed in light of this fact. According to the regulations in force, Hungarian nationals returning home from abroad are subjected to health screening at the border. If the suspicion of infection emerges, they are referred to a designated place of quarantine. If there is no suspicion of infection, they are required to retire to compulsory home quarantine. He observed that persons who have recovered from the infection and have no symptoms as well as persons who are able to verify that they were under disease control observation for 14 days or more abroad are exempted from compulsory home quarantine. A request for exemption from compulsory home quarantine on grounds of individual circumstances can be submitted prior to entry. The application form necessary for administration can be found on the website of the police at police.hu.

In answer to another question, he made specific mention of Tolna County where the police have only been required to take action in 15 instances since the introduction of the new protective measures on 4 May, including 3 cautions and 12 prosecutions. This county’s data accounts for only 2 per cent of the national data. He thanked those living in the county for having taken compliance with the measures seriously.

(MTI)