The first days of curfew in Hungary and neighbouring countries – Videos

New restrictions and protective measures have been put in place by the Hungarian government as the country fights the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Many have been waiting for stricter regulations, while others are not happy about the changes.

PM Viktor Orbán announced on Monday that stricter rules would come into effect on Wednesday, a decision that many people have been calling for. The new regulations include an 8 pm curfew, going back to online school for children over 14-years-old as well as for all university students, and the closing of restaurants. Let us take a look at how the first few days went of the lockdown, as well as at how the Hungarian government battles the pandemic compared to neighbouring countries.

The main parts of the new measures are:

• a curfew from 8 pm to 5 am,

• people not being able dine at restaurants – but delivery is still possible,

• stores and shops having to close at 7 pm,

• hotels not being able to take tourists,

• cultural, sports, private, and other kinds of events being forbidden, as well as family and other gatherings,

• leisure facilities being prohibited to be visited,
• students over 14 going back to online schooling,
• stricter mask rules – which may vary from place to place,
• and a fine of €281 to €2,810 may be imposed on anyone not following the regulations.

These will be effective for 30 days and be re-evaluated afterwards.

Read a more detailed description of the restrictions HERE.

Austria took similar measures a week and a half before, which will be intact until the end of November. Their curfew is one hour longer, however, and exercise or walking will still be allowed after 8 pm, according to Yahoo. The businesses that were forced to shut down because of the lockdown will receive financial aid, which will amount to 80% of the sales they had made a year prior.

Slovenia’s actions have also been similar, with a curfew from 9 pm to 6 am, a ban on travelling between the 12 regions of the country, lowering the limit for people at private gatherings to only six, and children from 6th grade upwards have switched to online schooling, according to Medical Xpress.

On the other side of the spectrum is our Southern neighbour, Croatia. It seems as though their authorities have no intention of imposing either a lockdown or a curfew, like other European countries have.

Many Hungarian citizens had been calling for stricter regulations and are pleased with the curfew and other regulations; however, it seems that many have a problem with it, or just a hard time following the new rules. On the second day of the curfew, police had to take action in 324 cases because people violated the curfew. 39 people were given a warning, 170 were fined, while 115 had infringement reports filed against them, and three were reported for violating the rules of public gatherings.

The army and Counter Terrorist Units, along with the police, were also involved in making sure the curfew was complied with, an action which Gergely Karácsony and many others questioned and criticised.

“Certainly not with fear and threats, but with sincere speech, free from political slogans and false success-propaganda, is it possible to achieve people’s cooperation. And the people of Budapest are setting an example again,” he said, reported hvg.

Source: Daily News Hungary