Coronavirus in Bulgaria: 24 new cases confirmed, total stands at 2259

Twenty four new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Bulgaria over the past 24 hours, ten of them were hospitalised. The results come from 874 tests, the country’s chief health state inspector, associate professor Angel Kunchev said at the daily morning briefing on May 19.

The total cases in the country so far are 2259.

Sixteen of the latest cases are in Sofia, 4 in Yambol, 2 in Sliven, one in Kyustnedil and one in Pazardzhik.Eleven are women and 13 are men.

Of the total, 299 of the persons diagnosed with Covid-19 are in hospitals, 36 of them are intubated.

Children under the age of 18 infected with the virus are 133, which is 5.8% of all cases.

The number of medical professionals who tested positive for the virus is increasing to 242. Two new cases were registered over the past 24 hours: a doctor in Sofia and a nurse in Yambol.

646 have recovered, which is 28.6% of all cases. 34 recovered over the past 24 hours.

Two more people died: a 79 year old man in St Anna hospital in Sofia and a 93 year old woman in a hospital in the town of Lom.

The total number of deaths is 112.

After a meeting with all the heads of medical institutions in Sofia, a conclusion was reached that due to the relatively small number of people in need of treatment, the better option is to leave 7 or 8 hospitals in Sofia, which would mainly work with Covid-19 patients, so that hospitals with one or two people diagnosed with the diseases can be completely released and direct their resources to normal medical activities. The aim is to deal with all those with other diseases who have postponed medical care for 2 months during the state of emergency.

The patients infected with coronavirus will be mainly treated at the Military Medical Academy, in "Pirogov", in "Alexandrovska", in the Infectious Diseases Hospital, in "St. Anna", in the Second City and Pulmonary Hospital in Sofia The rest will be able to focus on other patients. COVID-19 wards will remain on a case-by-case basis as needed and these hospitals will be able to re-engage in the treatment of the infected.