One of the last yellow countries in Europe has crossed the border to turn red

Hungary has had low infection rates for weeks, but the number of new corona infections has risen in the past week. The country is now well above the border that Norway has set for a country to turn red.

For almost the week, Hungary will most likely join the ranks of European countries that are considered red countries. This means that if you come from Hungary to Norway, you will be quarantined for ten days.

The reason is a large number of new infection cases reported in the last week. On Friday alone, the country with 9.8 million inhabitants recorded that 459 people had been infected with the coronavirus, the highest number they have ever recorded, Reuters reports.

Hungary decided on September 1 to close the borders, but made an exception for three neighboring countries. The European Commission has described the Hungarian measures as discriminatory and illegal.

Hungary has received red numbers

According to the latest survey by the European Agency for Contingency Control (ECDC), Hungary has 23.4 new cases of infection per year. 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days. This means that Hungary has crossed the border of the 20, which Norway has set for a country to be considered red. If the trend continues, the government will most likely add Hungary to the long list of European countries covered by a 10-day quarantine requirement.

The vast majority of European countries within the Schengen were considered green when Norway opened for non-quarantine travel on June 15. Since then, most have turned red. The remainder are now considered yellow, to emphasize that the government does not recommend any foreign travel there.

Slovakia is also approaching the 1920s

One of the other few remaining yellow countries is Hungary’s neighbor Slovakia. According to the ECDC overview, Slovakia has an infection rate of 19.7, that is, it is approaching the limit for turning red. On Saturday, the country recorded 226 new cases of infection, which is the highest number they have ever recorded, Reuters reports.

In case Hungary and Slovakia are declared red countries in the next week, only the three Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Finland will remain as yellow areas, in addition to some regions of Sweden and Denmark.

Finland (6.4) and Latvia (4.5) are doing well, while Estonia (16) and Lithuania (15.7) have more cause for concern. One positive fact is that infection rates have stabilized and decreased somewhat in Germany and Sweden. But on Saturday they were still across the border from Norway with their 20.4 infected people. 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days.

With an infection rate of 17.3, Norway is one of the few European countries below the quarantine limit of 20. But the number of new cases has also increased in Norway. The government has set a deadline in mid-September to decide whether infection control measures should be toughened, relaxed or stopped.

The European Commission proposes new and higher limit levels

Since the EU countries carried out a coordinated opening of the borders in June, several countries have introduced their own rules about who can cross the borders.

This has caused confusion and, in some places, long traffic jams. To remedy the problems, the European Commission has proposed a system of green, orange and red regions and countries.

Under the proposal, all countries or regions should be considered green if they have fewer than 50 new cases of infection per year. 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days. They are also described as green if the positive percentage is below 3 percent, unless the number of cases exceeds 150, Reuters reports.

To be considered a red zone, the country or region must have more than 150 cases per. 100,000 inhabitants, or more than 50 cases if at least 3 percent of the covid-19 tests are positive.

The limits proposed by the EU Commission are so far well above those set by Norway. An EU diplomat tells Reuters that not all EU countries have the same capacity in the health care system, nor an equally good system for testing and tracking new cases. So it is conceivable that the most vulnerable countries want to establish stricter rules for visitors.