Hungary: Authorities tighten COVID-19 restrictions November 9 /update 17

Event

Hungarian authorities have announced the tightening of restrictions introduced due to the coronavirus diseased (COVID-19) pandemic from Monday, November 9, for a period of at least 30 days. From midnight on Monday, a modified curfew between the hours of 20:00 and 05:00 (local time) will be in place with movement restrictions except for those travelling for work or in an emergency. Restaurants, cinemas, and certain shops will also close. Whilst secondary schools and universities have closed, primary schools will operate with increased COVID-19 testing in place. Public gatherings are banned and limits are in place for private gatherings including weddings and funerals.

Face masks remain mandatory in public spaces and on public transport, as well as in health and social care institutions and public offices. Those found to be violating the measures will be fined and offending restaurants and shops may also be closed by authorities. Additional restrictions may be introduced by local authorities.

Hungarian authorities have extended current border restrictions until December 1. Only citizens of the Visegrad Four Group, which includes the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia, are allowed to enter the country. These travelers will be required to provide a negative PCR test for COVID-19 acquired no more than five days prior to arrival. Exceptions are in place for military convoys, foreign diplomats, international students, freight transporters, business travelers, persons in transit, and humanitarian aid. Hungarian nationals and residents returning home from abroad will be required to either self-quarantine or produce two negative PCR tests for COVID-19 taken two days apart.

As of November 9, there have been 114,778 cases of COVID-19 and 2493 associated fatalities in Hungary. Further international spread of the virus is to be expected in the near term.

Context

The first case of COVID-19 was reported on December 31 and the source of the outbreak has been linked to a wet market in Wuhan (Hubei province, China). Since then, human-to-human transmission of the virus has been confirmed.

Cases of the virus have been confirmed in numerous countries and territories worldwide. On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global outbreak a pandemic. Virus-screening and quarantining measures are being implemented at airports worldwide, as well as extensive travel restrictions.

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Some patients may experience other symptoms such as body pains, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste or smell or a rash on skin or discoloration of fingers or toes. These symptoms (in most cases mild) appear gradually. Generally, most patients (around 80 percent) recover from the disease without being hospitalized.

Advice

Measures adopted by local authorities evolve quickly and are usually effective immediately. Depending on the evolution of the outbreak in other countries, authorities are likely to modify, at very short notice, the list of countries whose travelers are subject to border control measures or entry restrictions upon their arrival to the territory in question. It is advised to postpone nonessential travel due to the risk that travelers may be refused entry or be subject to quarantine upon their arrival or during their stay.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, travelers are advised to abide by the following measures:

• Frequently clean hands by using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
• When coughing and sneezing, cover mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue; if used, throw the tissue away immediately and wash hands.
• If experiencing a fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, seek medical care urgently and share your previous travel history with your health care provider.