Hungary will close its borders from 1 September in an attempt to stem the flow of COVID-19 cases into the country.
Any Hungarian citizens returning from other countries will be required to quarantine. This is according to Gergly Gulyas, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Chief of Staff. Citizens will only be able to leave quarantine if they have two negative COVID-19 tests.
Exceptions to the rules include military personnel, humanitarian travel in transit, and diplomatic travel.
The government is considering how to let fans partake in the upcoming football match between Bayern Munich and Seville that is scheduled to take place in Budapest on 24 September.
Gulyas said “the number of infected has increased and most of them come from foreign countries.” He added that the restrictions are necessary so children can safely return to school next week.
Friday saw 132 new confirmed cases of infection, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic. To date, 614 people have died out of 5,511 confirmed cases.
