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Hungary Tightens Travel Rules on Virus, Rejecting EU Advice

Hungary Tightens Travel Rules on Virus, Rejecting EU Advice

Hungary won’t heed a European Union recommendation to gradually start opening its borders to travelers from outside the trading bloc, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, citing health concerns amid a resurgence of the virus abroad.

The EU recommended earlier this week that member states start lifting travel restrictions for 14 countries as well as China, pending confirmation of reciprocity. Of the nations on the list, Hungary will only allow unfettered travel to and from neighboring Serbia, Orban said on Thursday after meeting with his virus task force in Budapest.

“For the time being, with the exception of Serbia, we can’t comply with the EU’s request that we allow entry to citizens from outside the bloc because that would be contrary to the health interests of the Hungarian people,” Orban said in a Facebook post.

Hungary will also reinstate a mandatory corridor for those passing through the country, Orban said. Hungary has so far managed to prevent a spike in cases after the first wave of the pandemic receded. The country of almost 10 million people has officially reported 4,157 cases and 586 deaths.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.