Anti-epidemic measures being strenghtened

By order of Bulgaria’s Minster of Health Kiril Ananiev, new restrictions and additional anti-epidemic measures are to enter into force as of July 10 due to the increasing number of people infected with Covid-19. According to the new order, all outdoor and indoor sports events and trainings are to be held behind closed doors. All indoor entertainment facilities such as disco clubs, piano bars and night clubs are to be closed as well. The outdoor night clubs will continue functioning at 50% of their normal operating capacity and a distance of 1.5 meters between clients. Indoor and outdoor mass gathering events may have a maximum of 30 people. Public authorities and institutions have been called upon to strengthen control over the implementation and the compliance of the anti-epidemic measures within their competence.

District governors to introduce anti-epidemic measures according to the Covid-19 situation

Bulgaria’s district governors have the task of monitoring the capacity of the hospitals, introduce additional measures, or ease anti-epidemic measures according to the local Covid-19 situation. In Premier Boyko Borissov’s words, the introduction of these measures is necessary due to the lack of self-discipline among Bulgarians, who do not comply with anti-epidemic restrictions.

Number of Covid-19 cases now over 200 a day

There have been 240 newly discovered cases of coronavirus infection in Bulgaria with a record number of 4,286 PCR tests carried out in the past 24 hours, according to the Unified Information Portal. The highest number of new cases is in Sofia - 71, followed by Plovdiv with 21 cases and Blagoevgrad with 17. The total number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic is 6,342. There are 2,917 active cases. 498 persons are hospitalized, of which 29 are in intensive care units. For the past 24 hours 129 patients have recovered and the total number of recovered patients has reached 3,166.

First case of Covid-19 in Bulgarian contingent in Afghanistan

The infected military man was intubated and will be brought for treatment back to Sofia, said the Chief of Defense Adm. Emil Eftimov. The patient is in stable condition. There is also a second soldier in the contingent with suspected coronavirus infection. His condition is good and he will also be transported to Bulgaria.

Tests for coronavirus at Kulata border checkpoint

Testing for Covid-19 of citizens crossing from Bulgaria to Greece is not yet mandatory, but is done on an optional basis - based on the electronic form completed by them. Earlier it was reported that the tests will be for all those entering through the border checkpoint "Kulata-Promachonas", because of six infected tourists on the island of Thassos. It is assumed that two of them are Bulgarians who have received permission to return to their country. All those who have given samples for border examination must isolate themselves for 48 hours at the address indicated by them. If results were positive, they would be quarantined for two weeks or would have to return to their homeland. At the border, traffic is normal and there are no queues of waiting cars and trucks, it was reported.

Three scenarios for start of school year

According to the epidemic situation, the Ministry of Education is considering 3 scenarios for the start of the new school year. One is to start with a partial presence in class as students take turns according to their grade. But first graders and elementary school pupils need to be constantly in class without switching to distance learning. The best option is for the school year to start normally, with all students and teachers in the classroom. The worst option is to start the first term entirely online. The decision will be made shortly before the start of the school year on September 15, depending on the epidemic situation in Bulgaria and the number of infections, said Deputy Education Minister Tanya Mihaylova.

One cannot forecast how the epidemic would develop

What is happening is expected because of all those who did not comply with the anti-epidemic measures. The numbers of those infected today are much higher than yesterday. But it is important what percentage of them need hospital treatment and intensive care. At the moment, the situation seems to be under control, the director of one of the major Sofia hospitals, Alexandrovska Hospital, Dr. Kostadin Angelov, told Nova TV. He is adamant that forecasts cannot be made on the basis of the latest data on new infections. The mathematician from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Nikolay Vitanov, who works for the national operational headquarters for coping with the Covid-19 epidemic, said that a month ago the crisis was controlled, but non-compliance with the precautionary measures has taken the situation back to having one patient infect 1.33 new patients.

Bulgaria implements 36 out of 43 restrictive measures against Covid-19

International team of psychologists, psychiatrists and medics is examining how national anti-epidemic measures affect the psyche of the citizens in 10 EU countries and India. The study is financed by the European Commission. So far, there is no evidence to support the effectiveness of the measures, while they raise important ethic questions such as to what an extent fundamental human rights are violated, the scientists comment. Bulgaria and Romania implemented highest number of measures- 36 out of 43 different anti-epidemic measures aimed to contain the coronavirus epidemic. Sweden implemented only 13 anti-epidemic measures.

Compiled by: Diana Tsankova

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