Capacity of public establishments is reduced by 50% because of pandemic

From midnight on October 23, visits to discos, nightclubs and indoor and outdoor entertainment establishments are allowed only when 1 person has at least 2 square meters of total space. The measure has been announced by the Minister of Health Kostadin Angelov after a meeting with the associations of public establishments, BGNES reported. We reduce the capacity of the restaurants and the attendance by half. The current order is one person per 1 square meter. In this way, we will have enough distance between the visitors to interrupt the epidemic route of transmission of the virus, Minister Angelov explained. Richard Alibegov of the Association of Restaurants said he was pleased with the measure because the industry would not be able to withstand another restaurant closure.

Shortage of medics on the front line against coronavirus

The serious shortage of front-line medics is the biggest problem the health system faces, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov said at a briefing at the National Operational Headquarters. "Everyone is tired, many are infected, and some are in intensive care," he said. According to him, 1727 medics have been affected by the coronavirus since the beginning of the epidemic. The Minister sees solution of the staff shortage in the medical establishments in the help of doctors from the pre-hospital and in the specialized medical care. The assistance of medical universities and colleges will also be sought - for example, students in state pre-graduate internship could help doctors.

Mask wearing is mandatory with number of exceptions

As of today, October 22, by order of Minister of Health Kostadin Angelov, wearing a face mask or another mouth and nose covering in outdoor public spaces is mandatory when there is an accumulation of people and when keeping a physical distance of 1.5 meters is impossible. Exceptions are made for the clients of food and drink establishments, people practicing sports outdoors and indoors, participants in conferences, seminars and press conferences during speech delivery, TV anchors and their studio guests. Masks are not required outdoors for children under the age of 6. The measure will be in force until the end of November. The fine for not wearing a mask is 300 BGN (150 euro).

17 percent positive coronavirus cases after recent tests

1,472 is the number of newly registered coronavirus cases in Bulgaria over the past 24 hours, or 16.85% of the 8,738 PCR tests performed, Single Coronavirus Information Portal data show. Once again the highest number of cases is in Sofia – 483, Plovdiv – 147 and Varna – 77. A total of 29 people have died over the past 24 hours, 1,732 are in hospital, 107 of them in intensive care. 184 have recovered, the number of active cases is 14,689.

Government to update national plan for response to flu epidemic during Covid-19 crisis

Within a month, the government should update and implement the National Plan for Influenza Pandemic Preparedness, the parliament voted. The decision was taken by 170 votes to 0, with 1 abstention. The proposal was made by the opposition BSP. The ruling GERB supported the decision. During the debate, the government pointed out that there was nothing in common between the flu virus and the coronavirus. But they said they saw the point in updating the national flu plan because there was a serious risk of having a flu epidemic spread amidst the already widespread coronavirus pandemic.

Bulgaria increases government debt to 19.84 billion euros due to Covid-19 crisis

Bulgaria's government debt will increase to BGN 38.8 billion /EUR 19.84/ by the end of 2023. This is written in the draft of the debt management strategy of Bulgaria, published on the website of the Ministry of Finance, BNR reports. In the period 2021-2023, a possibility for a new government debt of BGN 4.5-6.8 billion /EUR 2.30-3.48 billion/ has been envisaged. The need for a significant increase in liabilities is justified by the measures taken because of the Covid-19 crisis.

Compiled by Diana Tsankova

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.