Coronavirus – Operative board warns Budapesters against going out – UPDATE

Hungary’s central team in charge of coordinating the fight against the coronavirus epidemic has warned residents in the capital to observe restrictions on leaving their homes in order to slow down the spread of the new virus.

Róbert Kiss, a member of the board’s emergency centre and a senior police officer, told an online press conference that “with the advent of warm weather more and more residents tend to violate the rules”, adding that on Sunday alone the police warned 574 violators, imposing 24 fines and launching 16 legal proceedings.

He said that altogether 159 criminal complaints have been filed in connection with the epidemic, 37 under suspicion of fraud, 11 of health regulation violations, 24 of threatening with a public hazard and 45 of spreading rumours about the epidemic.

Concerning the large number of Romanian nationals waiting at Nagylak crossing station to enter Hungary and return to Western Europe where they are employed, Kiss said that they are only granted entry if they have proof they are welcome in the destination country. Once in Hungary, they are only allowed to cross the country along designated routes, he added.

Answering a question, he said that the police would increase control over popular resorts and public spaces which could attract larger groups of people. The operative board will make a proposal for changing curfew rules, he said, adding that “if the figures show that certain areas require different rules”, this will be considered in the proposal.