Hungary to review each country on travel ban list weekly
“We will look at two kinds of data when deciding the colour code of each country: the number of active cases and the rolling average of the past two weeks,” Chief Medical Officer Cecilia Müller said after Hungary introduced a three-tier, colour-coded system regulating entry into the country for both Hungarian and foreign citizens on Sunday. The two will paint a realistic picture of each country’s pandemic situation compared to Hungary’s, she added.
Hungary has had no sudden spike in new cases, and the situation is similarly favourable in Slovakia and in some other European countries, the CMO said. These countries comprise the green category with no travel restrictions for anyone entering Hungary. The yellow category consists of countries where there has been an increase in new cases but have not yet reached mass infection phase or only have localised outbreaks of COVID-19. Red means the country in question has nationwide mass infections. “We will not admit non-Hungarian citizens from these countries,” Müller said.
The latest colour-coded map will be available on the National Public Health Centre’s (NNK) website.
There have been no changes in the base operations schedule of Hungarian health institutions, but the NNK has sent out a letter advising hospitals of the government decree, which will take effect on Wednesday, Müller told Magyar Nemzet.
Hungary will not cover the cost of testing for people entering the country after 1 August, but this only concerns incoming travellers and the NNK will continue testing nationwide in accordance with the pandemic situation and safety guidelines, the CMO said.
There will be no centrally mandated pricing on the tests from August, with each laboratory approved to carry out microbiology diagnostics free to set its own prices, Müller told the paper.
