Restrictions on inbound travel to Hungary enter force

Hungary introduced restrictions on inbound travel effective Wednesday morning in an effort to prevent the novel coronavirus from being imported from abroad.

In line with the government decree that has entered into force, countries are classified into “red”, “yellow” and “green”, based on the severity of the situation in each, and different restrictions apply to entrants.

The Prime Minister’s chief of staff said on Sunday that the government was continually monitoring infection figures abroad and decided to respond to the “worrying developments” in neighbouring countries, as well as around the world. The number of active infections has been decreasing in Hungary, and the government wants to guarantee the continuation of this trend, Gergely Gulyás said.

The government website koronavirus.gov.hu published detailed information, including maps, on Monday, stating that the classification of countries was based on complex considerations and in line with the European Union’s classification system.

Each week the government, based on advice from the chief medical officer, will make adjustments to the classification of countries as deemed necessary, it said.

Separate rules have been introduced for Hungarian citizens and their family members, and non-Hungarians.

Hungarian citizens can freely enter from a country classified “green”. Entry from “yellow” or “red” countries will entail undergoing a health check at the border and 14 days in quarantine unless two consecutive negative coronavirus tests taken 48 hours apart within the previous 5 days can be proven.

Hungarian citizens coming from a “yellow” country depart quarantine after a single coronavirus test, while those from “red” countries will need two negative tests to do so.

The same rule applies to non-Hungarian citizens from “yellow” countries, but those from “red” ones will be forbidden entry altogether.

Among European countries, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Ukraine are “red”. Most countries in Asia, Africa and South America also belong to this category.

Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania and Sweden are currently “yellow” EU countries, while from outside the EU China, Japan, Norway, Russia, Serbia, the United Kingdom and the United States are the same.

Check out the full list of countries here.

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Source: MTI