Hungary is re-closing borders for international tourism on Tuesday, due to a worsening epidemiological situation across Europe. hungary closes borders
Starting on September 1, all tourists and foreign nationals will be banned from entering Hungary, with very few exceptions for essential travelers like diplomats or spouses of Hungarian citizens.
This is the second European country to re-close borders this week, after Ukraine’s similar closing announcement, barring entry for all international arrivals on August 29th.
While Hungary hasn’t seen a significant second-wave surge as some other EU nations, the Prime Minister wants to keep it that way by re-instating tight border controls and quarantines for nationals returning home.
When Hungary reopened first for tourism they devised a color-coded light system that dictated which countries could enter, and what requirements they needed to fulfill.
Most EU nations were classified as ‘green’, which gave them unrestricted access to Hungary, while higher-risk nations like the USA and Russia were given ‘yellow’ status, which still permitted entry with a 14-day quarantine.
Strangely enough, Hungary did have a ‘red’ country list that completely banned nations like Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Ukraine, and other countries that had far more favourable case numbers than the USA or Russia.
It is unclear if the same color-coded light system will come back into effect if Hungary decides to re-open their borders again in October. hungary closes borders
Minister Gergely Gulyás, who serves as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff, said that there will be multiple exemptions to the ban on foreigners entering the country, with details to be decided during a government meeting on Saturday. Hungary will maintain a corridor to allow transit through the country.
Hungarian citizens returning home from abroad will be required to either quarantine or produce two negative coronavirus tests.
