Voluntary compliance is also important in the present phase of the fight against the epidemic, 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 Tuesday.

Police Colonel Tibor Lakatos added that the weekend before the police had had positive experiences in checking compliance with the protective measures in effect; they were only required to take action in a negligible number of instances.

As many as 1,979 persons have registered for the electronic monitoring of compulsory home quarantine, with 852 active users at present. In the past 24 hours, 53 persons have violated the rules of compulsory home quarantine, he said. He added that the number of remote checks was now above 16,000, pointing out that it is fortunate that the police were only required to check compliance with the relevant regulations onsite in 431 instances. He added that the application of this system had resulted in significant savings in energy and human resources.

In the context of the measures implemented by the authorities at the weekend, he mentioned that in the capital more than 200 persons, including city wardens, neighbourhood watch officers and staff members of the National Tax and Customs Administration, were on duty and checked compliance with the protective measures currently in force. He repeated that they had been required to take action in very few cases; their experiences show that people are aware of the regulations, while the operators of restaurants and other catering establishments, too, observe the rules relating to their employees and also ensure that guests are likewise able to comply with the regulations.

Regarding rest areas designated for transit traffic, he said these will be reserved exclusively for transit traffic passengers as long as there are countries from which passengers are not allowed to enter Hungary without restriction and as long as Hungarian nationals can only enter the given countries if they retire to compulsory home quarantine. He mentioned Romania and Ukraine as examples.

In answer to a question from the press about how long they are planning to uphold the institution of compulsory home quarantine, he said the end of the threat posed by the epidemic does not depend on restrictions on entry. There could still remain countries where the status of the epidemic might warrant the maintenance of quarantine for 14 days after entry or a ban on the entry of their nationals. He observed that also in Europe there are countries where the infection rate is higher than in Hungary. He added that the goal was to extend the easing of travel restrictions to as many countries as possible. At the same time, they continue to determine the rules applicable to travel with regard to the epidemic situation and based on bilateral agreements concluded with other countries.

In answer to another question from the press about how the deployment unit mentioned by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a radio interview last Friday will localise the spread of the epidemic in elderly care homes and hospitals, the Colonel said it will be the task of the unit comprised of experts to take the primary measures in places where infections appear, thereby stopping the spread of infections. He said they will provide onsite assistance as a group helping the staff on the ground.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)