Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that while immigration advocates may disagree, all illegal immigrants trying to enter Hungary during the Covid-19 pandemic pose a possible health threat and should be treated as such.
The PM, known for his tough approach to undocumented migrants, made the comments during an interview with Hungary’s Kossuth Radio on Friday. He said all of those attempting to enter the country “pose a biological and health risk to Hungary” due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Orban clarified that he didn’t consider every individual migrant “a biological bomb,” but said some of them may be infected with Covid-19 and not even realize it themselves. In that case, while the dignity of people trying to cross the border should be respected, Hungary has every reason to see them as a potential threat.
The prime minister was responding to a question about remarks made on Thursday by Hungary’s Chief Medical Officer Cecilia Muller. She said that in recent months, the majority of people who had flocked to the fence erected by Hungary along its southern border in 2015, were coming from nations with high Covid-19 infection rates and thus posed “an extreme danger” to Hungary’s public health.
In the interview, Orban also said his government has a fast-response team ready to intervene if an outbreak happens in the country and called on Hungarians to do their part by acting responsibly and not take unnecessary risks.
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