From today, it is mandatory to cover one’s face in Budapest’s shops, stores, markets and taxis, Mayor Gergely Karácsony has announced on the city page.
The city council has decided earlier that from 27 April, it would be possible to travel on public transport routes only with a face covered with a mask, scarf or shawl.
The decisions are driven by the goal of curbing the spread of the coronavirus infection, as Budapest is the largest hotspot in Hungary.
To stimulate compliance, Budapest public transport company BKK is distributing 60,000 face masks to passengers for free. The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid is joining the campaign and will hand out a further 30,000 masks, the transport provider has said.
The Hungarian government announced it is extending the lockdown until May 3, preparing for a gradual and controlled reopening of the economy. Gergely Gulyás, head of the Prime Minister’s office, said at his regular news briefing that it is too early to start easing restrictions on movement such as reopening schools, although some countries have done this.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak began, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that only ill people and those who care for them wear masks. Later WHO backtracked on its advice, conceding that it had acted out of concern that stocks reserved for frontline medics may be depleted.
One way or another, some European states have already made or have decided to make masks compulsory for public transport users and shoppers, including Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Starting next week, commuters throughout Germany and shoppers in nearly all German states will be obliged to wear masks.
Some countries, such as Spain, have started handing out masks to commuters. But non-EU member Switzerland, who is now relaxing its restrictions, confirmed that it would not press its citizens to wear masks in public.
Read more via Hungary Today
