Hungarian government no longer pays for people’s coronavirus tests

Hungarians planning a summer holiday or those who commute to work might think twice about crossing the border to red and yellow countries because the government no longer covers the fee of their coronavirus tests in the case they want to come back to the country.

Since the middle of July, countries have been divided into three categories: green, yellow, and red, based on their current number of infections and the moving average of the last two weeks. So far, if Hungarians wished to enter the country from yellow or red countries, they were obligated to quarantine themselves for 14 days, unless they could present two negative coronavirus tests, in which case they were exempt from quarantine. Important changes are coming and modifying this system, Népszava reports.

From August 1st, the Hungarian government no longer covers the coronavirus test fees of Hungarians who are coming from countries marked yellow or red. Therefore, people will have to pay for the tests themselves, which could cost them more than what it takes to travel.

People still have the chance to remain in quarantine for two weeks if they wish not to pay for the tests. However, this might not be an option for people who are coming to work. Employers are not obligated to pay anything when their employees are in quarantine after a holiday, so these two weeks without work could cost more than the price of the tests. Due to the time that must pass between swabs, people would need to stay home for almost one week anyways.