Gulyás, other ministers enter quarantine

Gulyás tested negative for the virus on Wednesday, the statement said. However, the minister will not attend Friday’s government meeting or the regular press conference afterwards unless his second test also comes back negative, it said.

Another four government politicians said on Thursday that they moved into home quarantine.

Judit Varga, the justice minister, announced on Facebook that she will continue working from home after learning that she came into contact on Monday with a person confirmed to be infected with the Covid-19 virus. She said she had no symptoms and her first test taken on Thursday morning for the virus came back negative.

The other three politicians include Zoltán Kovács, Hungary’s state secretary for international communication and relations, Csaba Dömötör, a state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office and Őrs Farkas, spokesman of the government information centre (KTK). They all met István Hollik, communications director of ruling Fidesz, at an event on the weekend, KTK told MTI in a statement.

Hollik said earlier in the day on Facebook that had tested positive for Covid-19. He said he had felt ill on Monday and Tuesday after attending a private event on Saturday, which was also attended by other politicians of the ruling parties.

Hollik said he has not travelled abroad this year and had observed all virus-related rules. “It shows that the virus is among us and it requires increased attention from everybody”. He added that he would continue working while in quarantine.