Anti-epidemic measures in Bulgaria are working, no district remains a red zone for Covid-19 morbidity

The anti-epidemic measures in Bulgaria are working and no district of the country remains a red zone for Covid-19 morbidity.

Some 16,000 patients had recovered in the past seven days, with 8,500 in the past four days, while the number of infected was almost half those who recovered.

Vaccination against Covid-19 will start on December 27 in Sofia, Plovdiv and Bourgas, and from December 28 will expand to the other district capitals..

Vaccination will be voluntary and free-of-charge, and will start with Health Minister Kostadin Angelov, hospital directors, and front-line doctors and other medical professionals.

This was reported at a December 24 meeting between Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and members of the task force against coronavirus and the vaccination task force.

"So far, the measures have done what we set out to do - to reduce the number of infected and the number of deaths. The number of recoveries is also increasing," said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

He was adamant that the situation continues to be constantly monitored and expressed hope that with the help of vaccination the country will be able to get out of the pandemic by the end of next year.

Health Minister Kostadin Angelov told the meeting that Bulgaria now ranks 17th in morbidity in the European Union and the European Economic Area and is third in Covid-19 mortality.

There was a steady downward trend in morbidity in Bulgaria, he said. Morbidity was now at a rate of less than 500 cases per 100,000 population, Angelov said. There is no district now thta remains in the red zone for Covid-19 morbidity, he added.

The head of the Medicines Agency, Bogdan Kirilov, said that after the European Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion and EC authorised the first Covid-19 vaccine, the first delivery to Bulgaria was expected to be on December 26 and the vaccination to start on December 27.

Chief State Health Inspector Angel Kunchev said that more than 60,000 doses of vaccine against Covid-19 were expected to arrive in early January, so that this would make it possible to very quickly increase the number of immunised.

The head of the vaccination task force, Krassimir Gigov, told the meeting that the vaccination process were prepared regarding documents and logistics. The head of the national task force against the coronavirus and head of the Military Medical Academy, Ventsislav Mutafchiiski, and the director of Pirogov emergency hospital, Assen Baltov, said that the medical establishments they run are ready to join the process.