The epidemic is retreating but is not over: Dr. Angel Kunchev

“It is too early to talk about taking stock, but the fact that people are apt to think it is all over is alarming,”  Dr. Angel Kunchev, Chief Health Inspector commented for the Bulgarian National Radio.  In his words “if we let things slide we shall have problems”, that is why we must maintain a high level of supervision. Dr. Kunchev urged the public to comply with the measures so there will be no backsliding. The situation will go on with a lower intensity. The tendency in the northern hemisphere is towards containment of the individual outbreaks so as to prevent any wider spread of the virus. In Bulgaria, 88,000 people were quarantined, but it was this huge amount of work that checked the disease, Angel Kunchev said.

60/40 measure will probably be extended: Minister of Labour and Social Policy

“The 60/40 measure will probably be extended by another 3 months, with the option of continuing it until the end of the year,” Minister of Labour and Social Policy Denitsa Sacheva said for the Bulgarian National Radio. The measure will be amended so that the unemployed, whom employers will be able to hire, may be registered. There will be a stronger focus on bus transport in an 80/20 mode of assistance because it is a key sector. In Minister Sacheva’s words, the tendency, observed for several weeks, of more people finding work than losing their job is a consistent one. The daily rates of registration of unemployed are back to their pre-state-of-emergency levels. That is why no shocks are to be expected, unless other factors affecting unemployment emerge. Denitsa Sacheva adds that a rise in unemployment levels may be expected at the end of the year.

43 newly registered coronavirus cases over past 24 hours, no deaths

43 out of the 816 tests for Covid-19 performed over the past 24 hours in Bulgaria have returned positive, indicate data posted on the Ministry of Health’s Single Information Portal. This brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Bulgaria up to 2,711, of them 1,006 are active. The number of recoveries to date is 1,545, of them 17 have been registered over the past 24 hours. 155 patients with Covid-19 are being treated in hospital, 12 of whom are in intensive care. The number of infected medical professionals at this time is 294, of them 6 have been registered over the past 24 hours. There are no fatalities connected with Covid-19 over the past 24 hours.

After 15 June Bulgarian sport will go ahead at full throttle: Sports Minister

Bulgarian sport will, very soon, resume activities in full, Minister of Youth and Sports Krasen Kralev announced. “Bulgaria was among the first countries to have applied stringent anti-epidemic measures, that is why it is among the countries affected least by the epidemic,” he said for ТV+. In his words that is what made it possible to lift the restrictions quickly and reduce economic damages. Minister Kralev pointed out that all sportsmen and women, and sports federations behaved responsibly during the state of emergency. “After it, the gradual easing of the measures in the sphere of sports has been going ahead as planned, that is why, after 15 June, all levels of Bulgarian sports will begin to function at full throttle,” Minister Kralev said.

Rose festival closes in Kazanluk with flamboyant procession but no tourists

Despite the anti-epidemic measures, Kazanluk celebrated its rose festival, 2020,without breaking with the 117 year-old tradition.  For the first time the festival was held without its thousands of tourists from all over the world. The procession dedicated to the flower queen passed through the whole town. This year’s queen rose and her runners-up, together with rose-pickers, scattered roses in the streets. The procession ended in the central square with horo dancing. 

Edited by Darina Grigorova

You can find all stories and important publications related to COVID-19 in Bulgaria at our special coverage section in English. 

You can also follow all latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak and all measures in Bulgaria in 9 more languages at Radio Bulgaria.