The state of emergency in Hungary ended on Wednesday, 17 June 2020.

On Tuesday, the Hungarian parliament voted on two bills on lifting the emergency and transitional rules. With the former, the Parliament calls on the government to eliminate the emergency declared by government decree. According to the other, with the withdrawal of the emergency, the coronavirus law, will also be repealed. At the same time, among the so-called transitional rules, the government has also created a new, semi-emergency legal order: this is the so-called health crisis situation.

Pursuant to the government decree issued at night, the government will introduce epidemiological preparedness for the entire territory of Hungary by ordering a health crisis situation. Readiness is reviewed every 3 months, with the provision essentially expiring on 18 December.

Although the regulations made at the time of the emergency were in force until the Emergency Regulation remained in force, certain protection measures will remain in place:

• wearing masks or any other device covering the mouth and nose (mask, scarf, shawl) must still be worn when shopping on public transport and in the shop. As in the enclosed spaces of restaurants, it remains mandatory for caterers.

• the new rules no longer set time limits for in-store purchases. This means that between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m., more than just people over the age of 65 will be able to shop at grocery stores, drugstores, markets, and pharmacies.

After the lifting of the emergency, the operational staff and the hospital command system will also be maintained, as we are officially preparing for the second wave of the epidemic.