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Hungarian government reintroduces COVID-19 "special legal order"

PM Orbán called on lawmakers to reintroduce the special legal order for 90 days. He also said the government is imposing a curfew between midnight and 5am.

 

The Hungarian government has reintroducing the "special legal order" in connection with the coronavirus epidemic, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Tuesday.

In a video on Facebook, PM Orbán called on lawmakers to reintroduce the special legal order for 90 days. He also said the government is imposing a curfew between midnight and 5am, and nightclubs will be ordered to close. Also, parking will be made free of charge once again with a view to reducing crowds on public transport.

According to MTI, the prime minister said sporting events, cinemas and theaters will have to restrict audiences to using every third seat, and face masks must be worn. The authorities will inspect all events and fine transgressors. Venues that fail to observe the rules will be shut down immediately, he added.

PM Orbán said the epidemic was gaining momentum, noting that Austria now had 1.5 times as many infections per million people as Hungary. “And the situation is even worse further out to the west,” he said, adding that Hungary tended to be about 5-7 days behind Austria in terms of the state of the epidemic. If this trend holds, Hungary’s hospitals will be close to exhausting their capacities by mid-December, he said.