The prime minister announced further restrictive measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic including a ban for foreign passengers to enter Hungary.
Speaking in parliament, Viktor Orbán said that only Hungarian citizens will be allowed to enter the country. International coordination talks on the border restriction are under way, he said. All events in Hungary will be banned starting at midnight on Monday, Orbán said, adding that sporting events should be held behind closed doors unless the organisers cancel those events altogether.
Pubs, cinemas and other cultural facilities will also be closed. Restaurants, cafés and shops will be allowed to remain open until 3pm, Orbán said, adding that the restriction will not apply to food stores, pharmacies or drug stores.
Orbán has called on people to postpone all gatherings except for family events, and warned that the elderly were exceptionally vulnerable to the new virus.
“We’re looking at hard times ahead, much harder that what we’ve had up till now,” Orbán said. “We don’t have much knowledge [about what’s to come] but what we do have is rather alarming,” he said, pointing out that in Austria, the number of coronavirus cases went from 30 to 500 in a matter of eight days.