On Thursday, eleven Iranians who earlier disturbed the peace while in hospital will be required to leave the country, 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 on Thursday 11 Iranian nationals will leave the territory of Hungary: 8 persons on a voluntary basis, and another 3 accompanied by members of the authorities. Another 3 Iranians will leave the country later on 23 April.

He recalled that they were the individuals who had manifested anti-social, violent conduct at the South Pest Central Hospital in March, and had also committed breaches related to disease control isolation.

Mr Kiss reported that on Tuesday at the Budapest Liszt Ferenc Airport, the police took action against a Hungarian national who – while required to remain in compulsory home quarantine – attempted to leave Budapest on a flight. His exit from the country was denied, and he was repeatedly ordered to remain in compulsory home quarantine, he said.

He also highlighted that further individual protective supplies had arrived in Hungary; on Tuesday, two consignments were delivered, including 10 million surgical face masks, 900 litres of disinfectant liquid, and 24,600 isolation gowns. These supplies have already been delivered, warehoused and taken stock of.

He said 13,360 compulsory home quarantine orders had been issued, and the police had checked the individuals concerned 206,458 times.

Regarding those violating the restrictions on movement, he said on Tuesday the police were compelled to take action in 385 instances in Budapest, including 231 cautions, 75 onsite fines and 79 prosecutions.

In the context of border traffic, he said there could be some minor delays in cargo traffic on the entry side at the Tompa, Röszke, Ártánd and Rajka border crossing points, while in incoming passenger traffic at Parassapuszta.

The police pressed charges against 219 individuals in connection with the epidemic, 57 due to scaremongering, 26 due to the threat of public danger, 60 due to fraud and 12 due to disease control violations. So far 46 suspects have been interrogated.

In answer to a question, the Lt. Colonel said they are evaluating the police interventions related to the restrictions on movement on a daily basis, and experiences show that they have sufficient personnel doing this job. He observed that their work is also assisted by other law enforcement agencies, including the defence forces, agencies performing certain policing responsibilities, agencies responsible for public security and transport security, civil-society organisations and communities. Should they observe negative trends, they are able to respond “dynamically”.

In answer to the question as to whether young people or elderly people are in the majority of those violating the regulations, he said there is no need to identify a specific age group because the restrictions equally apply to everyone. At the same time, he observed that there had been younger people in large numbers among those committing more severe or repeated breaches. However, during the long Easter weekend, the police had positive experiences when inspecting venues frequented by young people, including Bikás park, Hármashatárhegy and Városliget in Budapest. Regardless of age, in all our best interests, everyone should observe the rules, the Lt. Colonel said.

Responding to the question as to whether the panic atmosphere combined with bulk shopping has abated, Mr Kiss said experiences show that it has. He said they attempted to facilitate this with police measures as well. He mentioned as an example that through the designation of humanitarian corridors, they have facilitated international and domestic cargo traffic. He also mentioned that they have opened several border crossing points to cargo traffic which had previously only been open to passenger traffic. From a policing point of view, they have taken the necessary measures which serve the smooth supply of the population, he said.

In answer to the question as to whether local governments which are restricting the shopping time slot reserved for the elderly are proceeding lawfully, he said the government decree on the restrictions on movement had given local governments two authorisations. One of them only related to the Easter period when they were allowed to introduce more stringent restrictions locally for the duration of the holidays, while the other one has no temporal effect. As part of the latter, the mayors of metropolitan districts and settlements are free to determine the time slots available to the over 65s for shopping at markets.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)