Gergely Gulyás told a government press briefing that the certificates would continue to be required to attend concerts and festivals, use restaurant or hotel services and participate in sports events “during the coming months”.

Hungarians returning from other countries no longer need to isolate if they have the certificate, he said, adding that the measure was being extended to minors in their company.

Vaccination continues to be free and voluntary, with appointments available online for AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Sputnik V. Moderna and Pfizer will be administered as they arrive, he said, adding that the 330,000 doses scheduled to arrive next week will be set aside for 16-18 year olds as well as for second jabs.

Thanks to its vaccination drive, Hungary has been able to break out of the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic and become the first country in Europe “to regain its freedom”, Gulyás said, adding that some one million people, about 80% of those registered, have already received at least the first jab.

Hungary records 106 Covid fatalities, 1,541 new infections

Fully 106 patients, generally elderly with co-morbidities, died over the past 24 hours, while 1,541 new infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Friday.

So far 4,203,873  people have received a first jab, while  2,406,684 have been fully vaccinated.

The number of active infections has declined to 206,949, while hospitals are treating 3,855 Covid patients, 445 of whom need respiratory assistance.

There are 24,690 people in official quarantine, while 5,494,198 tests have been officially carried out. Since the first outbreak, 789,188 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to  28,403.

Fully 553,836 people have made a recovery.