On Friday, individual protective supplies are being delivered to 31 hospitals, and police officers, too, will receive protective gear, 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 Friday.

Police Lt. Colonel Róbert Kiss said large consignments are arriving at Liszt Ferenc Airport both on Friday and on Saturday.

Hospital commanders reported that the designated hospitals had been successfully prepared for dealing with mass incidences, he said.

They have updated the deployment plans, and as a result, they are now able to instruct all hospital workers and higher education health care students to carry out extra work.

The Operational Group approved the regrouping protocol presented by hospital commanders, Mr Kiss said.

He also said police officers had checked compliance with compulsory home quarantine orders 82,627 times. Based on their experiences, with the passage of time, the number of those violating quarantine orders is increasing, also resulting in a rise in the number of sanctions imposed. They have prosecuted quarantine violators in 564 instances, have cautioned 49 persons, and have imposed onsite fines in 231 cases.

In answer to a question, he added that they would check on every person in compulsory home quarantine at random times.

Mr Kiss indicated that the police continue to check compliance with the restrictions on movement, and are continuously present on public premises and in public spaces. There, too, experiences show that ever more people are violating the rules.

The police took action in 2,044 cases, most of which resulted in cautions and the provision of information, while 459 persons have been prosecuted.

The number of criminal procedures instituted in connection with the coronavirus epidemic has risen: 143 criminal procedures have been instituted, including 36 due to scaremongering, 22 due to the threat of public danger, 33 due to fraud and 10 due to the violation of disease control regulations.

According to the Lt. Colonel’s information, on Thursday evening the rules of border crossing changed at some border crossing points. At Nagylak only passenger traffic is allowed through; exceptions are vehicles transporting livestock, perishable goods and hazardous substances, while at Csanádpalota only cargo vehicles are allowed to cross the border.

According to Friday morning data, there were minor delays in cargo traffic on the exit side at Hegyeshalom and Röszke, and in passenger traffic on the exit side at Nagylak, he added.

In answer to a question, Mr Kiss confirmed that Hungarian truck drivers arriving from abroad are screened at the border. If the suspicion of infection emerges, they are placed under compulsory home quarantine, while if not, they can take the goods to their designated destination and can continue to take part in international cargo transport.

In answer to another question, he said Hungarian police officers who took part in international border control missions were brought back from Serbia on 20 March at the Serbian party’s request, while in North Macedonia there remains ongoing Hungarian police presence.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)