The Hungarian government has authorized the foreign minister to conclude bilateral agreements on the mutual recognition of Covid-19 immunity certificates. It was also announced yesterday that Hungary has agreed with Serbia and Montenegro to mutually recognize immunity certificates.
Gergely Gulyás, Head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said Hungary will seek to conclude a bilateral agreement with every country that is open to entering into such an agreement. Under a prospective agreement, a holder of a Hungarian immunity certificate would be entitled to the same benefits as a certificate-holder of the partner country, Gulyás said, adding that Hungary, too, would recognize the partner country’s immunity certificate. The government is also planning to amend the penal code, making forging immunity certificates and presenting them a serious offence, Gulyás said. Service providers could also face serious consequences if they fail to ask customers to present their certificates, with fines from HUF 100,000 (EUR 280) to HUF 1 million and even imprisonment possibilities, he added.
The minister said restrictions concerning family and private events will stay in force, adding that wedding feasts would again be allowed once the number of inoculated Hungarians reaches 5 million; possibly by the third weekend of May. Mask-wearing continues to be mandatory in public areas, in shops and on public transport, and restrictions on assembly will also stay in effect until vaccinations reach a viable threshold. Those who have not yet received their shots may get vaccinated in short order and receive an immunity certificate, he said.
Concerning vaccine-related information the government recently published, Gulyás said the figures showed that “every vaccine is effective and there are no great differences between them: all reduce the risk of infection to a minimum.”